


School, coffee and books

by sadie1504



Category: British Actor RPF, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men RPF, X-Men: First Class (2011) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - High School, Domestic Fluff, Explicit Sexual Content, Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gay, Gay Male Character, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Male Slash, Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Slash, Smut, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2018-11-07 15:02:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 43,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11061456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadie1504/pseuds/sadie1504
Summary: Michael Fassbender is a new teacher at James' highschool, and they both fall for each other through their literature class.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing, and the people in this story don't have anything to do with me other than the inspiration they gave me to write this :)
> 
> English isn't my first language, so please forgive the mistakes!

Being a high school teacher had never really been a part of his plan, but still, it seemed like a nice opportunity and you never know where life will take you to, so he decided to take the job. It did give him more time to write and he certainly needed that, since the not-having-time excuse was getting a bit old.

 

Michael didn’t usually get up very early, but since it was the very first day of school he had barely slept at all because of the anticipation and woke up an hour earlier than necessary, so he took a longer shower and changed his outfit three times, because nothing seemed to say -I actually AM old enough to teach you this class-, he was only glad he had decided not to shave his stubble that morning. Finally he picked a dark gray blazer with a white button shirt and jeans that made him look formal but not too boring. Yes, he was giving this way too much thought, and as he realized this he just left the room with a roll of his eyes and a quick last glance at the mirror, and drank a cup of coffee before leaving.

 

He arrived at school at 8:00 even if his class was at 10:00, since all the teachers and students were invited to a welcoming ceremony, which wasn’t long but was boring enough. He did notice though how many students were there, and got a bit nervous by remembering how he used to be in high school, not caring much about the classes that weren’t literature or social studies -and that one with the really cute teacher, Physics, was it?- Good thing he was teaching senior year literature, so the ones that wanted to care and learn, would, and the rest he didn’t mind much, even if it wasn’t a very teacher-y thing to say, or think, in this case. Between the ceremony and his first class he got to chat with some of the other teachers, which were mostly older than him except for a couple of female teachers he saw talking to each other. At 9:50, after what already had felt like ages, he went to his classroom and waited for his students to arrive.

 

The first ones to get in the classroom were a couple of girls who looked at him and smiled sheepishly with a silent “hi”, one of them clutching more tightly to the notebook she was holding against her chest. He just nodded, smiling at them and looked away. After them, it seemed that all the rest of the classroom arrived at the same time, just a second after the bell had rung; he saw lots of different looking boys and girls glancing, smiling or nodding at him as they walked in, but noticed one guy that looked at him with wide eyes and seemed to stop in his place, which was more than okay, because if Michael had been walking, he would have stopped to look at him too: he was one of the most beautiful men he had ever seen, and that was something to say. They both looked at each other for a second and then the student looked away, ducking his head and sat in the first desk he bumped into, which was fairly near the first row.

 

When all the students were in their places he introduced himself, writing his name on the board, feeling like he was part of a film. "Good morning class, I'm going to be your literature teacher this semester. You can call me Mr. Fassbender", as he wrote on the board, all eyes and ears on him, he felt weirdly exposed. When he finished writing his name, he turned around to face the class again and said “or Mr. Michael, whatever you like”. He gave a brief introduction to the course and listed the books they were going to read through the semester, all this time finding it very difficult not to just look directly at the pretty Boy Who Stared -he chuckled inwardly at his own lame Harry Potter reference- who was looking at him with beautiful, big blue eyes. The rest of the class was spent with students briefly introducing themselves, and he learnt his name was James McAvoy, 18 (legal!) and Scottish, and that yes, he could be even cuter when speaking. They did a couple of warming activities on writing and symbolism, so he could see the level of the group later at home; James was the first one to finish the activities, and judging by their little interaction he realized having a gorgeous looking student was going to make this teaching thing a lot more interesting. The bell rang in what felt like less than 10 minutes, but the lesson was actually an hour and a half long, although most of the students didn’t seem bored and even looked interested, which made him feel much less apprehensive and realized that he actually had really enjoyed it; he was getting excited about the next one later that week, especially if James was going to be sitting near the front row again.

_______________

 

James really didn’t know how he felt; he had always found first days of school exciting even more now that he was older because lessons were more interesting and his friends from London were his favourite people on earth, but it was also a bit of a bummer because his summer back at home had been lovely; seeing his family and his childhood friends always made him happy. It was time to start a new year though, and he had a feeling it'd be a good one. He woke up at 7:00 to take a shower, get dressed and make some breakfast for him and Evan, his roommate and best friend, because Evan was definitely not going to make breakfast for himself if it meant less sleeping time. When the food was about to be ready, he woke him up and hurried him to the shower and kitchen and left the flat together, waiting for their friends, Jen, Zoe and Nick.

 

Jen and Zoe lived together in the flat next door, and Nick lived in the flat in front of them with a guy who he barely had a relationship with, so he spent most of his time in Jen and Zoe’s flat or with James and Evan. They all suspected he did enjoy more James and Evan’s flat but he had a huge crush on Jen so he spent all the time he could in theirs, not that she was supposed to know this, although she of coursedid. They all met in the first year of high school but lived in different flats then, and ended up all crammed up in this building by the half of their first semester and had kept living this way, and they loved it, since they had become like a little family.

 

“Good morning, sunshines”, said Zoe in the hallway, with a wide smile and a little too awake for being so early, James thought. A sleepy “Mornin'” and a lopsided smile was all she got from James. Evan, Jen and Nick said “good morning” in unison, with some yawns and eyes being scratched. It really was too early. “Are we all here and ready then? -said James- let’s go or we’ll be late to that ceremony thing”. “Oh my God –said Jen, exasperated and a bit too loud as usual- I’ve already been welcome to this school four times, one for each semester and it’s always the same boring speech and dumb balloons, if at least they gave us food, but no… why can’t us seniors just arrive, go to classes and leave as soon as we can? I mean, we do know where everything is by now”, she got a few grunts and silent laughs for an answer to her rant. “Aaand there you go, I was getting a bit worried about how quiet you were for the first minute there”, said Evan to her with a charming smile. The others laughed and she gave a little punch to his arm as a protest. “Shut up” she said, laughing.

 

After the ceremony they had their first lesson, which James shared with Nick, and felt thankful for it because it was too early to listen to Jen’s muttering about being hungry and not having had breakfast because "who had time to have breakfast at that ungodly hour?" Or to Zoe’s attempts to make him care about the horrible shoes or gorgeous hair this or that girl was wearing that morning. Evan was a fair enough morning partner mostly because he always fell asleep and didn’t feel the urge to talk, although James did feel bad for the teachers, like they weren’t making a big effort by being there early, too, teaching to a bunch of sleepy kids. But Nick, he was perfect for the gig, he paid attention, so if James got distracted he knew he could ask him later, and he was aware of James so that when the teacher or another student said something that only they would find funny, they would look at each other and laugh together silently. James made a mental note to bring him coffee or cookies to school as a reward for his fine partnership qualities some other day.

 

Obviously, his good luck lasted only for the first period, or at least that’s what he thought, because even though his next class was literature, which he was really looking forward to since he loved reading, he was by himself. He did know the other students, obviously, but it’s not like he wanted to talk to them when he could, you know, not talk to them at all. His train of thought as he went in the classroom -and his step, also- was bluntly interrupted by the vision of the most handsome man on earth. What the fuck?- he thought- Was he going to be his teacher? He was in the classroom and did look like a teacher. Oh my God, he’s looking. Walk. Bump - DAMN IT - Sit down. Ok, there.

 

After his blush toned down while looking at his pen like it was the most interesting thing in the world, the actual most interesting thing in the world was talking… so his name was Michael. Mr. Michael Fassbender, and man, did he speak with an amazingly sexy accent. He wanted to punch himself so he'd stop staring but he couldn’t stop looking at him; thankfully he was the teacher so he had an excuse to stare. He actually found the reading list very interesting, some of them he had read already for fun but he didn’t mind reading them again. He got so nervous when introducing himself, but the soft, interested look of Mr. Fassbender was soothing for some reason, and he got out of it without stumbling or blushing too badly, which he took as a victory. The activities were interesting too; he did want to show off on the analysis, obviously, but he was too self-conscious of what he was writing because he knew this man would read them later and analyze their level; he wanted to stand out but didn’t want to sound cocky. Oh dear, he had just been one hour in this class and he was already suffering the effects of The Handsomeness. He tried to focus on not focusing on the teacher and instead he tried to write the way he would for a perfectly normal-looking one, and got a better result; once satisfied, he handed the activities to Mr. Michael. “You’ve finished?” he asked with a gentle smile, “uh, yeah, I’m… yes.” -Oh that’s eloquent, James – he thought annoyed at himself. Michael laughed softly and said, reassuringly, “ok, then. Thanks. The class will end shortly but I’ll announce the homework, so if you can wait a bit for your classmates to finish it’d be great”. James thought he could stay waiting in the classroom until next class on Wednesday if he was going to ask so nicely. “Of course I’ll wait... thanks”, he said, instead, with a little sided smile, and turned around to sit back in his place.

 

When the bell rang, the class flew away and he stood up carefully, looking briefly at Mr. Michael but he was putting away all the activities in his binder. He rushed his way out missing the quick glance directed at him, and searched for his phone to text Jen.

 

\- I have the hottest man alive as my literature teacher. I want to die.

 

\- Really? Yay for you! I’m so jealous! I just had Math with Mr. Smith (the very old, creepy one, remember?) and you might want to reconsider if you’re the one who wants to die. At least I have it with Zoe so we cry together.

 

\- Haha well I was alone so I guess it’s my reward. See you at lunch :)

 

\- See ya <3

 

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful except for lunch and the History class he shared with Evan, which made him very happy just because it was a kind of boring class and Evan wasn’t boring at all and it was nice to have company. As the teacher started talking James couldn’t help but sit there thinking dreamily about a certain someone with grey eyes and a matching blazer.


	2. Chapter 2

After three weeks of school, Michael's students were due their first essay on the book "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. He was excited to read them, not only to see how analytic they (James) were (was) but also because he was sure he was going to get some good laughs out of some of them, not in a mean way but he knew average lazy high school students analyzing books can be very funny. Not James though, he always paid attention and made the best out of every activity… he wondered if he was the same in the rest of his classes. So yeah, Michael was now in the having-an-enormous-crush-on-my-student stage and was suspicious James had a little bit of a crush on him too. Thankfully, he was gradually blushing less when talking to Michael and looking more confident through their lessons; he even smiled directly at him sometimes. Some of the other students, especially the girls, were having the same reactions that James was having when it came to talking to Michael, but he wasn't paying much attention to that, he knew he was good-looking and it was perfectly normal to have a crush on your teacher. He just hoped James' apparent crush wasn't just his imagination, even if it was something silly to hope for.

 

When checking the essays, as expected, some of his students were eloquent and silly but most of them had interesting enough things to say, which surprised him in a very nice way, and felt proud of them. James' essay though, which he intentionally did not read first, was great. Man, if he had a crush before he was thinking of proposal rings now… he was so smart! Smart, analytic and wrote beautifully. He hesitated for a moment, thought –Fuck it- and with a dopey smile on his face he grabbed a post-it from his desk, pasted it on top of James' paper and wrote: "You sure you aren't secretly studying a literature degree, too? Loved your work! P.S: Stay at the end of the class for a second?" He stared at it and read it a thousand times, wondering if James was going to discover the loud and clear "please have my children" in between the lines, before he put it in the middle of all the other essays so it wouldn't be creeping out and watching him do the rest of his work.

 

Next morning he made sure he looked especially good because he was going to talk personally to James about his skills and recommend him a few other books that he might like. And possibly throw a few charming smiles at him. He didn't have time to make coffee because it took him longer than planned to get dressed even though he actually ended up looking the same way he always did, so he thought he'd grab a cup from the teachers' room even if it tasted like sock juice, and left his flat wondering why is it that office coffee is never good.

 

At the beginning of the class, Michael told them he was going to hand in their homework and would call each of their names so they picked it up at his desk. When James' essay was next and the post-it popped up, his heart started racing and he suddenly wanted to remove it and throw the evidence away, but decided not to when he realized he was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush. "James McAvoy", he called; James got up very quickly, as if he was waiting for the worst, and walked straight to Michael's desk. Michael handed him his work with a smile that was hopefully reassuring and said "Well done, James". James' eyes softened and he ducked his head down with a sheepish smile, immediately looking at the post-it and right back at Michael, he mumbled a "thank you", quickly taking his essay and walking back to his seat without looking at it or him. Michael fought the urge to chuckle and looked down at the rest of the papers to call the next student, and as he did and waited for the next girl to pick up her essay, he looked at James to see if he was reading the message and what his reaction was. James was looking at the post-it as if it was written in a different language, and looked at Michael with confused eyes and a blush; Michael smiled softly and James smiled a bit, too, and returned to look back at his essay, his smile widening as he sunk in his seat.

 

At the end of the class, Michael noticed James was putting his things away slowly as if to have an excuse to stay in case someone asked, which wasn't really necessary because all of the other students were outside the classroom in about ten seconds. Ok, here we go – thought Michael – "Hey, thanks for staying, I wanted to talk to you for a second, if you have a little bit of time" he said. "Yeah, I've got 10 minutes before my other class starts, I…I can get there a little later but-" said James almost without breathing, and was interrupted by Michael, "Ten minutes is perfect, and you will be on time for your class, don't worry" he said, trying to calm James down. And he thought he was the nervous one about this little encounter. James blushed and nodded with a silent "ok".

 

“Listen, I really liked your work, as you could see in the note I left you" said Michael with a chuckle, "I just wanted to let you know this, and to ask if you're interested in studying something related to literature, cause I've noticed you enjoy it and you're very good". James looked at him with wide eyes as he spoke, and answered, "Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it… I tried my best. I really do enjoy this class and I love reading, I've loved it all my life, although I haven't decided yet if I'm going to study a degree that has to do with it or just keep it as a hobby. May I ask why you're asking?" Michael felt happy that James looked almost instantly relaxed and smiled at him, saying "I was just curious, I don't think talent like yours should go to waste, is all, as a career or a hobby. Also, have you read Animal Farm? I think you'd like it and maybe the course's books aren't enough for you. I brought my copy with me in case you wanted to borrow it. You've possibly read it before, though". James' eyes widened at this, in a good way, looking excited, "I haven't, actually! That's great, I'd love to borrow it. And thank you so much for the compliment…" he said smiling in a way Michael would dare to say was flirty, which made his insides have a bit of a party without his permission. Man, was this boy pretty. "Great. You can write an essay on that one, too" said Michael, jokingly, and took it out of his bag to hand it to James, who laughed and said "well, I just might" with a playful quirk of his eyebrow.

 

Michael wondered where his sudden confidence came from. He liked it, though. "I'll be waiting, then. Oh, and don't pay much attention to the notes on the book, I sometimes write thing don't have much to do with what the author's saying but I tend to scribble my thoughts about it" said Michael. James smiled fondly at him and said "don't worry, I do the same thing, my sister used to yell at me for it because I did it to all her books when we were younger. It will probably just make it even more interesting". Michael laughed and a thought crossed his mind, he did try to ignore it but knew it was a lost battle, so he just went for it. "Here" he said, writing quickly in a piece of paper, "this is my phone number so you can text me in case you have thoughts you want to share about the book" and handed the small paper to James, who stared at it with a cute smirk. "Thanks" he said looking back at Michael, smiling, "I'm gonna start reading it today. I have to go now, but I'll see you on Wednesday, Mr. Michael". "Of course, James" he said, feeling suddenly warm at the sound of James' voice calling him Mr. Michael, "see you later, hope you enjoy the book". "I'm sure I will", said James, walking towards the door with a small wave of his hand and a wide smile on his lips. Michael left the classroom a minute later with a smile of his own.

_______________

James' dreamy smile had lasted for the rest of the morning, and widened whenever he peeked at the book in his rucksack or remembered the small piece of paper with Mr. Michael's phone number in his pocket. What had he ever done to deserve this privilege? He didn't know, but he wasn't complaining. He kept running their little conversation in his head, wondering if he had said something dumb, but then thought he got the teacher's own copy of a great book and his phone number without even asking for these things, so he must have done something right. He couldn't wait to start reading the book, mostly to have something interesting and smart to tell Mr. Michael when he saw him again; he was desperate to show him he wasn't always awkward and silent and that he was actually eloquent and a bit more mature than the average 18 year old boy. Of course, he was aware that his teacher probably was in a relationship, because why wouldn't he? He was gorgeous, smart, sexy… who wouldn't want him? But still, there was the possibility that he wasn't, and James wouldn't lose a thing if he tried to be a little appealing to him, so he would try.

 

He spent the rest of his classes thinking about this, and when he noticed again, he was finally in the couch of his own flat with a cup of black coffee (it didn't have anything to do with the fact that he had noticed Mr. Fassbender always brought black coffee to class) and The Book sitting in his lap. He started reading it and in what felt like two seconds, two hours had already passed and he just noticed this with Evan's entrance in the flat. "Hey" he said, dropping his backpack next to the door, all blonde floppy hair and warm smiles. "Hi, you" said James, smiling back at him, half-closing the book but using one finger as a bookmark, and asked "where were you?"; Evan dropped himself dramatically next to James with a sigh and looked up at him, saying, "I had to do this team project thing, of course we didn't accomplish anything, we just talked for an hour and a half about the project and who was going to do what, and then we left. I hate team meetings, we could have done that online in ten minutes, you know? Right here in my couch, in my underwear". James laughed sympathetically, "I know what you mean, I hate those too. I think our hating everything that involves social interaction that isn't us is what makes us such good friends, mate", he said stretching his back and arms. Evan laughed, agreeing. "I feel you. What have you been up to? Were you reading? You looked cramped", he said, looking at James' stretching attempts.

 

“Yeah, I didn't realize I had been in the same position for two hours, this book is really good" said James, still bookmarking with his finger and lifting up the book for Evan to see. "You always do this, don't know why you're surprised" he said, moving to shift James' position by his shoulders so he was with his back facing him, both still sitting. He started massaging James' shoulders and slowly caressing his back with his fingertips after a couple of minutes, and James immediately tensed. They had this type of relationship where their friendly moments would sometimes escalate to something a bit more than friendly, but it was easy because they really cared for each other and it usually only happened when they were both feeling lonely or a bit drunk. They hadn't really done much but it still sometimes worried James that it would ruin their friendship, although Evan's vision of relationships was completely different from James' point of view; Evan was very free, James didn't think he had ever had a real relationship, just dates, flings or friends with benefits, which mostly involved James. James, on the other side, didn't mind much about the on and off more-than-friends thing because he wasn't in love with Evan or with anyone else, but if he were, he wouldn't even think of being with someone else other than his partner.

 

James felt Evan get closer to him and felt a warm breath against his neck, to which he instantly closed his eyes and leant to. He felt familiar warm lips in that same spot and he swallowed slowly, trying to not lose himself so easily; Evan ran his hand quickly from the bottom of James' back all the way up to his hair, making it messy, as he slowly kissed his neck. James gasped and moaned softly at the feeling. "Hey" he said, quietly. "Hey" said Evan, and continued pulling his shirt down his shoulder to kiss him there. James chuckled and opened his eyes, the book being the first thing in his sight, and realized he was still holding it. He had a funny feeling at remembering Michael; he obviously wasn't in love with the man, but he still felt weird about having sexy times with Evan when he had a huge crush on someone else. It might sound a bit dumb, because it's not like he had a relationship with either of them, but his heart was asking him to stop.

 

“Evan" he said, moving slightly away from his touch. "Hmm?" was his answer. "I… I'm not sure about this right now, I'm sorry" he said, with real concern in his voice, and turning a bit to look him in the eye. "Oh… ok, sorry" he said, after a few seconds, blushing slightly, "Just… you look really nice right now, and I thought you'd enjoy it". James sighed, "Thanks… you always look cute. And I would probably enjoy it, yes. I just… Listen, I have this crush on someone, and it will probably get nowhere but I'm not sure I feel really comfortable doing this. You know I love you, you're my best friend… I don't want things to be weird, is all". Evan looked at him for a second, like he was searching for something in James' face, then got closer to him and kissed him softly, pulling at his lower lip with his teeth, playfully. James closed his eyes. "Well then", Evan said, freeing James' lip, "you can take that as a good-bye gift. It's been a pleasure", he said, looking at James with a small smile, in a joking tone James knew very well. "You're my best friend too, you dork. You should've told me about this crush thing earlier though. So, who's the lucky guy?" he said, standing up and going to the kitchen, as if they had just been talking about the weather. "Or is it a girl?" he asked mockingly, stopping to squint at him. James smiled and silently thanked for Evan's easy ways and free soul.

 

"Yeah, it's a girl. I've decided I like girls now, you know? ‘Cause that's how us gay people roll". He heard Evan's laugh from behind the fridge, "yeah right, and I've decided I'll go celibate". James laughed, "Of course it's a man, Evan. He's actually my lit teacher" he said the last part a bit sheepishly, "I don't even know if he's straight or what, but I like him so much", he said, almost whining, looking apprehensively at the book in his hand. Evan reappeared with a box of doughnuts and a glass of milk. "That's appropriate for a 5 pm snack", said James, looking at Evan with an amused look, "well, you know me, babe. Also, James, bisexual's the new black", he said, taking a bite at a doughnut. James stared at him and said "well! That's easy for you to say, you are one. I don't know what this guy is other than fucking handsome". Evan laughed and rolled his eyes at James, "yeah, I know who you're talking about. I haven't seen him but I've heard you mention him with Jen and Zoe, I had been wondering why you weren't telling me about it. Did you think I was going to freak out? Anyway, even if he's straight, no one's that straight. I'm sure you can entrance him with your beauty and smarts" he said non-stop, in a rushy way he usually talked in, with a small wiggle of his eyebrows. Then he bit a doughnut.

 

James laughed, "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't want to sound like a 12 year old having a dumb crush with his teacher. Actually…" he said, picking up the book, again, "he brought this book for me today because he liked a paper I wrote and wanted to see if I was interested in reading it. It's his own copy, you know? And he gave me his phone number in case I wanted to talk about the book", he said, taking the piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to his friend; the number was saved now in his own phone, but he still kept the paper. Evan raised his eyebrows at him, taking the paper and smiling, but before he could say anything, the door of their flat shut open and Jen, Zoe and Nick appeared out of nowhere. "Hello!" they said in different timings, "what are you guys up to? We're bored", said Zoe. "Well, James was being the sweet naïve creature he is", Evan said, smiling wickedly at them and then at James. "Why, what do you mean?" said Jen, excited and sitting between Evan and James. Nick and Zoe sat in the small couch together; James rolled his eyes and waited for it to happen.

 

“Can I tell them?" asked Evan; "tell us what?" asked Zoe, "stop being so mysterious!"."Mhm", said James, looking at him and then at the piece of paper. "Well" started Evan, "James has a crush with Mr. Literature Teacher, as we all know now", he said. "I didn't know this!" said Nick, looking insulted, "sorry, Nicky, he apparently thinks this wasn't something us, the guys of the group, needed to know", said Evan smirking at James. James snorted and rolled his eyes, saying, "I'm sorry! It wasn't a big deal!" They all just laughed, "well, what about the crush?" said Jen, exasperated. "James here just told me this guy brought a book to class especially for him AND gave him his phone number!", there were gasps and shouts from the girls and laughter from Evan and Nick. "Oh my God, James! Why didn't you tell us?" said Jen, punching him a bit. "Well! I was obviously waiting for Evan to give you the news, since I wanted all of you to yell at me", said James. They laughed, and Evan said, "seriously, James, you still wonder if he's straight? I mean, yeah, he might be, but he did give you his phone number to "talk about the book", he obviously wants you to at least text him"; James sighed, the others agreed with different responses at Evan's comment. "Evan's right, sweetie. He probably just didn't ask for your number because he's your teacher, after all… but he did give the first step", said Zoe. James blushed at the thought and buried his face in one of the sofa cushions, smiling.

 

After James' friends left their flat and Evan was watching a film in his laptop, James went to his room wishing him good night and continued reading the book. He really liked it, and was very entertained with Michael's notes, which were either very deep or very funny. He discovered himself blushing just at the thought of his teacher writing these things in this very book, which he had now in his own hands. He looked apprehensively at his cellphone, biting his lip, then grabbed it in a quick motion and started a new text message –Ok, whatever, go for it- he thought.

 

-Don't know what I'm enjoying more, if the book or the notes – you're funny! It's James, by the way.

 

After staring at the screen for a minute he just clicked "Send", and felt like he had a mini stroke. He tried to continue reading while he was waiting for the answer, if he was getting one, but he kept reading the same sentence over and over again because his mind didn't seem to focus. When his phone made a sound, he jumped and quickly opened the message with one eye closed and the cellphone as far from him as possible as if it was going to explode.

 

\- Hello James! I'm glad you like it, although I'm certain the book is way better than my notes. So, should I bring another one to class on Wednesday?

 

James read the message with a cheeky smile a few more times before answering.

 

\- That would be lovely. JUST LIKE YOU – ok, erase that.  
\- That would be lovely. Which one will I take home this time?

 

A couple of minutes passed.

 

\- Nice! It'll be a surprise, I have to think about it. Something that suits you.

 

\- : ) fair enough, looking forward to it! Thanks Mr. Michael!

 

\- You're welcome James, and thank you for the message. See you at class!

 

No more messages after that. He was desperate to talk to him about anything else but he thought he might be abusing of having the guy's phone number, so he tried to read a little more and go to sleep, wishing he could sleep through Tuesday so it was Wednesday morning already.


	3. Chapter 3

Michael was excited and happy about the messages James had sent him; he picked a book for him on Tuesday night and brought it with him next morning. James arrived a couple of minutes earlier with a sheepish smile, but confident and beautiful, and stayed at the end of the class to chat with him for a bit. He was such a nice person, so smart and interesting, and so, so gorgeous; he found it hard to pay attention to everything James was saying because those lips and eyes were so full of color and life he wanted to cry right there. They talked about the book, about their thoughts on it, and James actually did hand him a tiny essay, just because he said he would, but was obviously teasing; Michael laughed at this and teased him back, saying he would grade it later.

 

"So this other book," Michael said, taking it out of his bag, "is called The Savage Detectives. It's mind-blowing, I think you'll like it". James took it and looked at its cover, paying attention to the names and images, "was it originally written in Spanish?" he asked, after reading the name of the author. "Yes, Roberto Bolaño is from Chile, but I've heard it's a very good translation", said Michael, looking at the cover, too. "Great, I'm sure it is. Thank you, I'll start reading it today. If I don't do my homework for the other classes though, I'm going to have to blame it on you", said James with a teasing smile. "You tell your other teachers you have my permission to just be interested in my class then, don't worry" said Michael smiling widely and letting his voice go down a pitch. James chuckled, the smile on his lips lingering and his head ducking down to hide his everlasting blush.

 

"See you on Monday, then, Mr. Michael", said James putting the book inside his bag. "Please call me Michael, James, at least when we're not in class" he said with a tilt of his head and a little grin. James looked at him with wide eyes and smiled, turning away to walk towards the door saying, "okay. Michael. I like it", he turned his head around to grant him one last look and waved him good-bye, then left the classroom, not entirely sure if the teacher was watching him walk away, but he made a little show of it just in case. Michael just stood there ogling.

 

_______________

 

"I can't believe how slow this week was, I'm so happy it's finally Friday" said Jen, holding a beer and sitting in front of James in the booth they usually sat in at the pub they usually went to. They were all there, Jen and Nick in front of him and Evan and Zoe to his side; he was sitting in the corner next to the hallway. It was a very common looking pub, nothing too special about it, but they liked it there. "Anyway," said James, taking a sip of his beer, "this Wednesday he gave me another book, which is actually great, and last night I texted him… I'm sorry", they laughed, "why are you sorry? Asked Zoe at the same time Evan asked, "what did the message say?". James looked at them, and Zoe quickly said, "no, never mind, answer his question, it's better", James chuckled, "I just told him his book WAS keeping me from doing the rest of my homework and that he might have to give me a note to show the rest of the teachers, ‘cause we joked about this the other day" he said.

 

"Oh, so you're already flirting with each other!" said Jen, excited. "No, we're not. I mean, I am trying but I'm shit at flirting with someone so handsome", said James. "It sounds like flirting to me", said Nick, and they all agreed, "maybe you should give it a try and text him about something other than books? So he knows you're interested in him and not just what he's giving you to read", he added. James looked at Nick and then at the tag of his beer bottle, scraping it at the corner, "yeah, I might. Not tonight, though" he said. "Fair enough, whenever you feel like it, but you must tell us!" said Zoe, giving a reassuring caress to the top of his hand. They changed the subject and talked about their classes, teachers and summers back home.

 

About an hour later, James was feeling a little tipsy and laughing loudly at something Jen had said, and so were the rest of his friends. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and checked it; there was a new text message from Michael, his heart skipped a beat and he opened it quickly:

 

\- I've always liked this song. Nice choice of beer, by the way.

 

After a few seconds of understanding what was happening, James said, "oh my God. He's here, he just texted me and he can see me", still looking at his phone; he could hear some of them said "what?" and "oh God!" as he looked up trying to keep it cool and search for Michael, his heart racing. "Can you see him?" asked Jen with wide eyes and obviously fighting the urge to stick her head out the booth and search for him too even if she didn't even know what he looked like. The rest were very silent. "Yes, there he is", said James.

 

He saw Michael smiling and waving at him from three tables away from theirs, and he smiled and waved back, not believing his luck. He then noticed that Michael was there with another man and James' heart sunk a little; the man was actually very good looking, strong build and dark hair and beard. Michael stood up and said something briefly to this man, and walked up to James. "He's coming" he muttered as quickly as he could, and everyone widened their eyes and stayed silent, "say something!" he said right in time and Jen started talking about something random, catching his plea quickly. Michael approached the table in that same moment, and James stood up. "Hi, James!" he said with a wide smile, and looked genuinely happy. "Michael! This is a nice surprise", said James, smiling back. Michael approached James and gave him a single armed hug, which James gave back, feeling as awkward as it gets, but Michael was as jovial as always and this made James relax a bit. He realized they were in front of his friends so he looked back at the table to find they were all staring at them. James quickly said, "guys, this is Michael, my literature teacher. Michael, this is everyone". They all said "hi!" or "nice to meet you" and waved their hands, and Michael said hi to everyone, smiling. James gave Jen a quick glance and noticed she was biting her lip, obviously suppressing a grin.

 

He turned to look back at Michael, "so, how long have you been here?" he said. "I just arrived a few minutes ago, I came here with a friend", he answered, gesturing at the guy in his table, who was talking enthusiastically with one of the waitresses. Michael saw this and laughed, "well he isn't intending to waste his time, apparently". James laughed with Michael. Good, then they weren't a couple or anything like that. "Anyway, I immediately saw you when we got our table. How are you, James?" said Michael, touching James' arm. James smiled at this, and said "tipsy, a bit. But happy, I'm glad I ran into you", Michael chuckled, "I'm glad to run into you, too. Hey, so how many angry teachers am I going to have to bribe on Monday?" he said, and James laughed, saying, "well, I'd love to say all of them just because I'd like to see you bribing them with coffee and poems, but I did get to finish all my homework, so we're all safe", to which Michael laughed merrily and said, "well, If someone bribes ME with those goods, I'd have very much difficulty saying no, thank you very much. Are you enjoying the book then?", James smiled at him and said, "yes, I am. I'll have the review next week, professor". "Hey!" said Michael, "what did I say about calling me that? Anyway, I'll go back to Hugh or he'll kill me for leaving him alone", he said with a quirk of his mouth. "Yes, of course. I'll talk to you later, Michael", he added with a little grin. "That's better" Michael said, winking at him and leaving the table, "bye guys, nice to meet you!" he said waving and smiling at them. "Bye!" and "nice to meet you, too!" was heard from James' friends.

 

James sat down biting his bottom lip and smiling at Michael's back. "Oh, dear" said Zoe, "James, he's gorgeous! Now I understand your suffering!" "Yeah! He's super hot! Well done, James!" said Jen. James laughed, "see? I told you!", "I can't believe he's here! What are the odds, you know?" said Nick. "James, he totally likes you, I hope you know this by now" said Jen, and they all nodded enthusiastically. "You think?" James asked. "Of course! First of all, why wouldn't he?" said Evan, "and he's all smiles and texting you and touching your arm, come on, even you can figure this one out, mate". James smiled at him, thanking the reassurance. "Fine, then. I'll see what I do, now entertain me with something else, people, because I have to look like I'm not talking about him, he's sitting facing me", said James. "How is he possibly going to know we're talking about him? Just don't look at him too much, that's all. But yes, let's talk about Alex now. I think he's going to ask me out again, I'm not sure I want to, though" started Zoe.

 

They started talking about this poor guy Alex, and James was making a huge effort not to just stare at Michael all the time, he was very self-conscious of his every move and sometimes felt like Michael was looking at him but he didn't dare to look back. After a while, a waiter came to their table with a cocktail on his hand, and placed it in front of James. James blinked and looked at him, confused, but the waiter quickly said, "the man in that table sends this to you, he asked me to tell you it's scotch and soda", and pointed at Michael's table. Michael was looking down at his phone, though. James thanked him and waited a second to see if Michael was going to look up at him, and then felt his phone vibrate, again. He grinned in expectation and opened the text Michael had just sent him, all the meanwhile his friends were saying things like "Oh my God, James!" and he could swear he heard Evan lowly catcalling.

 

\- Extra points for you if you get the reference to the drink.

 

James looked up with a smile, of course he knew the reference. He looked at Michael with a raised eyebrow and Michael grinned at him and raised his eyebrow daringly too, as an answer.

 

\- Well, The Catcher in the Rye, of course.

 

He could see Michael read his text and chuckle.

 

\- Well done!

 

\- Did I get my extra points, then? :) Also, thank you for the drink! I'll always appreciate a good scotch.

 

\- I always appreciate a good scotch, too.

 

Was that a pun about him being Scottish? He smiled at the thought.

 

\- I owe you a drink!

 

\- Haha, don't worry, you don't owe me anything, James. Just enjoy it!

 

\- We'll see about that. And thanks, I am enjoying it :)

 

He looked back at Michael and he was listening to something his friend –Hugh, did he say?- was telling him, but he was smiling mischievously. He gave himself the opportunity to stare a little, and wondered how, really, how was this man so handsome? His eyes were gorgeous, and so was his hair, his stubble, his smile, his lips… and he didn't even want to get started with his body. He spent hours of his day wondering why on earth did he have to wear such tight shirts and jeans, not that he was complaining but, mate, he was only human, how was he supposed to not wonder about what was underneath and make coherent sentences at the same time?

 

"James, are you back to Earth now? What did he say? He texted you, right?" asked Jen. James told them about their little conversation. "Ok well, it's decided, he's totally flirting with you, you have the right, no, the obligation to flirt back. And also, that scotch thing was totally a pun" said Zoe. "Yeah, it was" said Evan, nudging him softly and smiling. "Guys, leave him alone, he knows how to deal with it and he'll be fine", said Nick. "Thank you, Nick. I love you", said James smiling and blowing him a kiss. Nick smiled and rolled his eyes. "Okay then! I just want to know everything that happens from now on, ok?" said Jen, and Zoe mumbled something in agreement. Evan, Nick and James just laughed. "Fiiiine", said James, faking annoyance, "thank you for helping", he said with a little smile. "Yeah, whatever" Jen said with a little wink at him. He smiled and gave his scotch a long gulp, closing his eyes, enjoying the taste and everything he wanted it to mean.

 

"One last thing, James", said Jen, "is he looking? Evan, tell me if he's looking". Evan looked at Michael discreetly and said, "No. No. No. Yes, now. No. N-" "okay, I get it!" said Jen, "James, listen to me. Take Zoe's drink, cause it's the only frosted one, lick the edge to have some of the salt-sugary stuff and then take a sip, but look at him after the licking. Trust me", Zoe looked excited and said "Yes! Do that!", Nick hid his head in his hands and Evan and James looked at each other, Evan with a look that said "might work" and James was looking for help. "You mean it, Jennifer? I'll probably look super lame, you might pull it off but I don't think I will", said James, "oh, shut up and do it, McAvoy" she answered, with a roll of her eyes. "Evan will tell you when to lick, okay?", "okay", said Evan and James in unison. "Ok, go", said Zoe, handing him her drink. James tried to look casual, as if she was offering him to try it, and feeling too self-conscious with the drink on his hand waiting for the instructions. After a few seconds, Evan muttered "now". James slowly licked the edge of the glass -who actually drinks this stuff?- he thought, and then drank from it, as Evan mumbled "he's still looking" with a nervous chuckle, and it was time for James to look at him, so he did. He still had the glass on his lips when he turned his eyes to Michael, who was staring with slightly parted lips. James smiled softly at him and Michael looked away, blushing a bit. It was good to know James wasn't the only one who blushed. "Well, that definitely worked" said Evan, "you should've seen his face".

 

_______________

 

"So, are you going to tell me who this guy is?", said Hugh after Michael had sat back in the table after saying hello to James. "Why is it important?" asked Michael taking a sip from his beer. "Well, you don't usually stand up to say hello to people in tables that far just because you happen to know them. You like him, don't you? Who is he? He looks kinda young", he added with a little frown. Michael laughed, "It's times like these when I regret being your friend for so many years, you know me too well", he said, "he's a guy from school". "Is he a teacher, too?" asked Hugh, "nope" said Michael, his lip curling upwards. "He's a student? Michael, how old is he?" asked Hugh, almost laughing.

 

“Oh come on, it's not like we're dating or anything, not that I don't want to though, but we just talk and he's a nice guy who happens to be very smart and interested in literature and is also very pretty. And he's 18" he said, chuckling cause he knew Hugh was going to laugh at him. Whatever. "You really want to date him? You could lose your job, mate" said Hugh, "Well, I've gotta line up my priorities, it's not like I intend to stay at this job forever, anyway" said Michael, half joking. "Just look at him", he added, looking at James with puppy eyes. Hugh turned around to look at him discreetly and said, shrugging "well, yeah. I'm straight and I wouldn't kick him out of bed", Michael laughed, "see? And he's not just gorgeous; as I said, he's also really smart. I think he likes me back, too" he said. "Are you really doubting that, Michael? When was the last time that a man didn't like you back?" asked Hugh, "Is that a rhetorical question?", said Michael, squinting. Hugh rolled his eyes and laughed, "I don't count. You know what I mean, when was the last time that a man who ALSO likes men, didn't like you back?", he said. "There, that's better. I'm just kidding, though, that was a long time ago, and I was confused. If I had known you better I wouldn't have liked you that much", said Michael with a teasing smile, to let him know he was joking. "That's what I think", said Hugh, smiling back.

 

Michael and Hugh had been friends since junior high, and Michael joked about their long friendship by saying Hugh knew Michael was gay even before he knew it himself. He did have a crush on Hugh at the beginning of high school, and it had been difficult times because, since Hugh liked Michael so much even if it was just as best friends, he had tried to like Michael back the way he liked him, but they realized through sloppy encounters and a couple of awkward kisses that it wasn't so easy to just choose to like someone that way. Michael had suffered because he thought he was always going to be in love with Hugh and would be terribly depressed his whole life and cry when Hugh got married with some other girl, but then the years passed and he realized it was just adolescence doing its job. They stuck together as friends and Michael couldn't be happier that things actually turned that way and they weren't a couple, it would be really weird now that he thought about it.

 

"Anyway, I don't even know if he does like men, actually, but some of the signals he sends tell me that he does", said Michael. "Well, then be more blunt, just to see if he likes you back or not, and then you'll know what to do", said Hugh, shrugging. "Yeah. I've got an idea", said Michael after a few pensive moments. He turned around to look for a waiter and called the one that was nearest to them. He ordered a scotch and soda and told him whom he wanted him to give it to, and after the waiter took the order, he told Hugh: "Ok, I just ordered something with a reference to a book, I'll leave it to destiny. If he knows the reference, I'll ask him out on Monday, if he doesn't then I…won't", said Michael, making a face at the last part of his sentence, because he wasn't so sure he was going to comply to his own destiny game in case James didn't know the answer. He really wanted to ask him out. "You're such a snob. But well, at least you'll let him know you like him by buying him a drink, so he'll know if he pursues it or not", said Hugh, "yeah, that's true - said Michael distractedly as he looked at James' table- We'll see what happens now".


	4. Chapter 4

Michael thought the encounter at the bar had been perfect because, besides from the fact that he got to see James outside of the classroom, hanging out with his friends - and James laughing was the best thing he'd ever seen- he felt like he had given the first step of letting James know he was interested in him not just as a person who enjoys good books, but as something else. His hook with the scotch and soda had been a good book, yes, but you have to be really naïve to not know someone likes you if they send you a drink, right? And he knew James was smart. Also, he had seemed to appreciate it. He knew he had made a commitment on asking him out if he got the reference on the drink, so he had to do that on Monday. And it was Sunday night. Damn it.

 

Next morning he took a shower and got dressed quickly, having decided what to wear the night before: something that said "please date me". He was wearing a tight pair of dark jeans, because he didn't really own any other type of jeans, and a dark grey button shirt with a black blazer on top and a light grey chunky scarf, since the weather was getting crispier. He looked at himself in the mirror self-consciously, wondering how on earth he was going to ask James out. He couldn't do it by text, obviously, that was lame; it was going to have to be at the end of the class, assuming James would stay a little longer as it was becoming a custom.

 

He shrugged it off thinking he'd have to trust himself and left the room, took his bag and left to school. He was as nervous as he had been the first time he had asked a boy out, back in high school; he remembered that with a smile now and thought how it hadn't been a big deal after all, how it had never really been a big deal, and the way he always ended up enjoying the thrill of it, and of the first dates; thinking of this helped him feel more confident and excited instead of nervous.

 

When he got to his classroom a few minutes before the class started, a couple of his students were already there, the ones that always arrived early. He said good morning to them and so did they, with a smile, as he got to his desk and saw something different: there was a thermos in it with a little note and a tiny paper bag. He turned to looked at his students and they weren't paying attention to him or the thermos, they probably hadn't noticed actually, so he opened the thermos with a small frown and smelled coffee. He was starting to suspect something, but no… -it couldn't be! - He opened the bag quickly and yes, he had suspected correctly, there were 4 aspirin. He smiled and closed his eyes. It had been James, and he didn't even need to read the note to know what it would say, but he did, anyway. There was a neatly hand-written message:

 

“I'm sick for real. Rosario is making me stay in bed. Before she left for work she went out to borrow a thermos from a neighbor and she left me half a litre of coffee. Also four aspirin. I have a fever. I've started and finished two poems." – Roberto Bolaño

 

P.S: Now you're the one who gets the extra points, because I know you figured the reference out before you opened this note. And I owe you the two poems!

 

Of course he had brought him a drink, and with a reference of the book he had just lend him, no less. This was it, it was decided. James was the most amazing person, ever. He couldn't wait to see him and thank him, and ask him out and kiss him and make love to him and write him poems of eternal love if James wanted him to. The bell rang and he put the note inside his binder, waiting for the rest of the class to come in. He looked expectantly at the door, and when James came in, he smiled at him fondly and raised the thermos a bit; James smiled too and made a little head bow, as a silent "you're welcome", and Michael wanted to grab him and kiss him right there. This man was going to be the end of him. He drank some of the coffee and tried his hardest to teach his class normally, as if he wasn't falling head over heels over one of the students sitting right there in the second row.

 

When the bell rang, he dismissed the class and James stayed, as expected. When everyone was gone, Michael said to him, "I can't express to you how cool this is, it made my day completely… thank you, James". James got closer to the desk, putting his backpack on and smiling as he answered, "well, I told you I owed you a drink. I hope you don't need the aspirin, though, they were just so the quote made sense". Michael looked at him expecting not to have hearts in his eyes and answered, "I'm glad you didn't bring me scotch and soda, then. Nice reference, by the way. I'll be expecting those poems…" James laughed, ducking his head and then looking up, raising an eyebrow at him, "when have I failed you, Mr. Michael?", and the way he said "Mr. Michael" sent a shiver down Michael's spine. James was being deliberately sexy, the little tease. Michael smirked.

 

“What are you doing on Friday, James?" he asked a bit lowly after a couple of silent seconds, and briefly looking at James' lips. He could play this game too. James eyebrows rose a little and he shifted his position, "I, uhm, nothing… I mean I don't have plans yet… why?" he said. Michael looked at him for a moment before saying, "have dinner with me", just like that. James stared at Michael for a couple of seconds, paralyzed, and opened and closed his mouth a bit, blinked and said "Y-yes, of course. I'd love to" widening his eyes a little more and then smiling sweetly.

 

\---------------

 

"James, do you already know what you're going to wear?" asked Zoe, sounding concerned, as she sat in the couch of his flat, next to Evan. "No, I don't. It's 7:00 and he's going to pick me up at 8:00, I still have time", he said as he wandered from his room to the kitchen and then to the living room in his bathrobe. "That's not too much time! And don't act like you're not thinking about it, you're biting your nails. Stop biting your nails, James" said Jen, who was sitting with Nick on the small couch. "Of course I'm thinking about it! I just don't know what to wear. What do I wear?" said James, almost whining, placing his forearms at the top of the couch and sending his upper body to the front, between Zoe’s and Evan's heads.

 

"You know that blue and grey plaid shirt? That might be good", said Evan, thoughtfully. "That shirt is yours, not mine" replied James, staring unfocused at the wall in front of him. "Oh. Well, it's the same, it might look good", said Evan with a little shrug. The others chuckled, and James went to look for it in Evan's room. Once he had it, he returned to his spot on the couch and put in on top of Zoe's legs, "what do you think?" he asked. "It's cute, but we have to see it on to make a decision. If it's a little loose on you because it's Evan's shirt, you can wear very tight jeans with it and it will look nice. Do you have very tight jeans? You can borrow them from Nick", said Jen, and Nick nodded, "they're not tight on me but they probably will be on you", he said. "Thanks, but I think I'll wear my own jeans, yours will be a thousand feet longer than my legs. Also, stop making me wear other people's clothes!" said James, entering his room and listening to their laughter.

 

He tried his tightest jeans on –why am I even listening to these people? - he thought, and Evan's shirt, which was in fact a little loose on him. He looked in the mirror and actually liked how he looked, so he went out to the living room. "So?" he said, standing outside his room with his arms open and waiting for them to look at him. "You look great!" said Evan, happily, "yeah but great is not enough!" said Zoe, and Jen agreed, saying, "we need you to look sexier, you know? Mesmerizing!" and they laughed, James returning to his room with a roll of his eyes. "Fiiiiine!" he yelled half-heartedly from his room as he took the shirt off.

 

After what felt like thirty-four changes of shirts, jeans and shoes, he finally ended up wearing the first pair of jeans he had tried on but with a plain white v-neck shirt and a brown leather jacket that he loved, it was his magic piece of clothing; he always felt great when he wore it, so he wondered why he didn't think about wearing it since the beginning of this whole thing. He looked at the clock and it was 10 minutes before 8:00. His heart skipped a little.

 

When he was tying his converse, he heard a soft knock on his door. "Come in" he said. Evan came into his room and looked at him, putting his hands in his pockets. James looked up at him and smiled, "what's up?" he asked. “Nothing, I just wanted to say something", said Evan, looking a bit serious. James frowned and said, "Ok, you're scaring me, what is it? ". Evan got closer and sat on James' bed, next to him, "No, it's nothing. I just… I want to let you know that you're the best person I know, and I really want you to be happy" he said, looking at his hands, "you deserve the best, you know?" he looked up at James' eyes. "Evan…" started James, but was interrupted, "no, don't get it wrong. I'm fine, I'm great, actually. It's just a funny feeling, knowing you'll go with someone on a date, because you haven't dated anyone for a long time, and looking the way you do, ‘cause you look so nice, it makes me realize how lucky I am that you ever let me kiss or touch you…" he said with a sided smile and looking at him. James felt like crying and he didn't know why. "That's… thanks. You know I wanted it too, at the moment, and I know it was never a big deal but it's alwas been special to me too -said James with a little shrug- I know you want the best for me and I want the best for you too… we just want different things, is all" said James, then added "I love you, you weirdo", punching his arm lightly. Evan chuckled, "I know, I do too. Seriously though, if this guy fucks up I'm going to haunt him down and kick him right on the butt" he said. James laughed, forgetting that he had felt like crying just a minute ago, "and you will have my permission. Relax though, it's just our first date, it might be me the one who fucks up". "Well you better don't, James, 'cause he's hot", said Evan, getting up from the bed and offering a hand at James to help him get up too. James wondered how did they do this so easily, talking about something serious and then just changing their mood like nothing had happened. It was genuine, though, he knew this, so it didn't bother or worry him, it just amused him.

 

He felt his phone vibrate, but this time it was Michael calling him, and he realized it was the first time they'd talk on the phone as he answered his call, but having a big calming breath first.

 

"Hi, Michael", he said, leaving his bedroom and walking towards the small living room.

 

"Hello, James, how are you?" said Michael.

 

"I'm very good, thanks, and you?"

 

"I'm great, thank you. So, are you ready?"

 

"Ready for what?" said James, very serious.

 

He heard Michael hesitating a second, as if he was trying to decide if it was a joke or James had actually forgotten their date.

 

"I'm, uh, outside your building"

 

"Why are you outside my building? I was getting ready to sleep, actually, just putting my pajamas on", he said as he walked out to the balcony holding his phone and smiling goofily, and he immediately saw Michael standing on the sidewalk. They lived in the second floor so it was fairly near, and Michael lifted up his head and looked up at James with a frown, clearly relaxing when he saw him smiling at him and very ready to go out.

 

Michael hung up the phone and smiled at James, rolling his eyes a bit. "You freaked me out", he said, loudly so James would hear him. James rested his arms on the balcony fence and smiled back, "I know. You're more gullible than I thought. I'll be right there, give me a second!" he said. Michael laughed and nodded, “of course", he said.

 

"Smooth!" said Jen from her spot on the couch. "James, I was a little worried but I think you've got this under control", said Zoe with a mischievous smile. "Be sexy!" she added, bossily. "Yeah, I'll try", said James. "We'll see you later, then, and don't worry about us, stay as long as you want", said Nick, "okay, mom" answered James with a smile, letting him know he was kidding. "Well, Jamesy, if he doesn't put out you know where to find me", said Evan with a wink and obviously joking, and received a flying cushion to his face from Jen. James laughed and rolled his eyes, "bye, guys, wish me luck!" he said. They all did and waved at him. "Send us messages to know how it's going!" he heard Jen say as he was closing the door.

 

James left his building and saw Michael leaning on a car, which James assumed was his, looking down the street, with his hands in his pockets. He looked so handsome. When he saw James, he straightened and walked towards him to greet him. "Hey!" he said, hugging James casually, with a big smile. "Hi, Michael" said James, smiling and hugging him back. "Ready to leave?" asked Michael, holding James' forearm casually, “yes" he said, with a nod of his head and his smile bigger. Michael opened the door of his car for James to get in and then he went to the driver's seat. James smiled at the gentlemanly gesture.

 

“So, where are we going?" asked James with a curious look and not believing he was actually going on a date with this amazing, gorgeous man. "Anywhere you want to go", said Michael with a bright smile on his lips.


	5. Chapter 5

James quickly said he had had a craving for these amazing sandwiches from a restaurant in East London for weeks now, but then added they didn't have to go there, since it wasn't very fancy or anything, with a little blush. Michael had laughed and said that was perfect, and also that he knew a great place that sold the best strudel he had ever had that wasn't Germany, and wanted James to try it. Then, James remembered a Scottish pub he had wanted to go to, too. So they decided they'd have dinner at the sandwich place, dessert at the little pastry place and drinks at that pub. It sounded like they were heading for a long night, and that was perfect.

 

“So, you're from Scotland, yeah? When did you move here to London?", asked Michael before taking the first bite of his sandwich. James was starting to answer when Michael made a pleased sound, chewing slowly and closing his eyes; James laughed and said, "see? I told you they were amazing!" Michael pointed at his sandwich, still chewing, and then stuck his thumb up saying "mhm!" James had a sip of his soda with a smile and said, "I know, I know, you're welcome that I introduced you to these marvels. Anyway, yeah, I'm from Scotland, that's where I was raised and where my family lives. I moved here around two years ago" said James, grabbing his sandwich and taking a bite after asking, "and you? You have a different accent that I haven't figured out yet, and it's driven me crazy in class sometimes, actually. The not knowing where it is from, I mean" he said when he realized it might have sounded like he meant his accent drove him crazy, although it actually did but he wasn't going to say that. Yet. 

 

Michael smirked for a second and said, "I see. It's cool that you wanted to be independent so young. I was born in Germany, but lived in Ireland most of my life, before I came here when I was 20. My accent is like a combination of all these three places, I guess… my mother is Irish and my father is German, so I grew up listening to both accents", he said with a shrug, "I don't hear it though, I guess I'm just used to it". James nodded, "so, you came to London when you were 20 for Uni? Which leads me to the question: how old are you, by the way?" said James, with a small frown. Michael chuckled, "Yes, for uni. And take a guess". James squinted playfully at him and said, "I'm guessing around 52, but I might be wrong for a couple of years", and then smiled charmingly at Michael. Michael laughed and rolled his eyes, "yes James, you missed exactly two years, I'm 54", James laughed, "I'm joking! You're what? 28-29? He asked, taking another bite of his sandwich. "I'm 27, actually" he said, raising an eyebrow. "It's funny how we've talked about books and, you know, different, deep things, we've even texted about silly stuff and you didn't know my age" he added.

 

James chuckled and thought about it for a moment, then tilted his head, saying, "well, I don't really think too much about people's age, you know? At least that's not as important to me as other things". Michael smiled and nodded "I understand. I think the same way". "Clearly" said James with a flirtatious smile. Michael stared at him briefly, and getting his upper body closer to him across the table, he asked, "so what are these other things that you find more important?” James blinked a bit nervously at Michael’s sudden closeness. "Kindness, I think is my most important. I care about intelligence and courage, too" he said thoughtfully, "I'm basically aiming for a knight here" he added, jokingly. Michael laughed, "Yes, those are very knightish values. That's great though, there aren't too many kind, intelligent, brave people out there anymore", he said. James smiled, "I don't know, but I have faith in people. What about you? What's more important to you than age?" he asked. "Yeah I have faith in people too, I just like to be dramatic. I'm a writer, after all" said Michael, winking at him.

 

He took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling, thinking, "I'm interested in great bodies, mostly" he said, and James burst out laughing, "I repeat: clearly" he said after a moment with a wicked smile and gesturing at his own body with his hand, obviously kidding. Michael laughed but gave James a longing scan, grinned softly and raised his eyebrow, silently agreeing with him. James blushed at this and looked at his sandwich to avoid Michael's gaze. "I adore intelligent people, but not just book-smart, I mean emotional intelligence, too. Someone good-hearted, obviously, and honest. Those are my three most important, I believe", said Michael. "I'm also very attracted to elegance, but I mean elegant features or gestures, like graceful hand movements when talking, things like that", he added. James was yearningly looking at Michael, with beautiful blue eyes, and Michael almost said "just like you", but he didn't, so he smiled at him trying to make it obvious that he was indeed talking about features just like James'. 

 

"I am attracted by strength", said James, after a moment and smiling back at Michael, knowingly. "Not just muscle strength" he said, rolling his eyes when Michael smirked a bit, "although muscles are more than welcome, of course. I mean in personality, movements… you know, harsh lines, broad shoulders kind of man", he said, chuckling a bit and biting his lower lip softly when he noticed Michael had shifted a bit in his seat, looking gorgeously self-conscious. Of course he was talking about someone like Michael, it was obvious, but it was the truth, too; he was attracted to this type of men. It was his way of telling him he thought he was beautiful too, just like Michael had told him when describing what attracted him. They continued talking about other things, a little about their families, their likes and dislikes, things you talk about on first dates, and then James suggested they went to the pastry place, since he was excited to try that cake Michael liked so much.

 

Once there, they ordered the strudel and a double chocolate piece of cake that looked delightful and had made eyes at James, which Michael noticed and just ordered it even if James said that it wasn't necessary, but he wasn't going to listen to him because he knew he wanted it, and, oh God, who was that pretty, really?

 

They sat down, waiting for their pastries to be warmed up. "You look amazing tonight, by the way", said Michael, because he hadn't been able to just not say it. James needed to know how gorgeous he was and hell, he had asked him on a date so it was obvious he liked him, he could say these things now. He'd just try to go slow. James turned his face at him and blushed slightly, his eyes softening, and said, "thank you, you look great too. Really", his smile the most beautiful thing Michael had seen. Although he did seem to think that a lot when it came to James' features, that they were the most beautiful things he had ever seen, like his eyes, his lips, anything in his face area. And in other areas of his body, too, of course.

 

Their pastries arrived and Michael insisted that James had the first bite of them both. James refused and said, "we'll try them at the same time, what do you think? I want to have the strudel first, because you love it so much and I want to know what all the fuzz is about", he said. Then, he took both forks, took a small piece of each cake in each fork, and handed Michael the one with the strudel. "I thought you wanted the strudel first?" said Michael, raising an eyebrow, "yes, I do" said James simply. "Ready? One, two, three" he said, raising his fork and directing it to Michael's mouth. He knew it was a bit cheesy but he was feeling adventurous, so, whatever. Michael's eyes widened but he opened his mouth to let the fork get in, and he aimed his fork to James' mouth, too. They both watched the other one for a moment and James was the first to quirk his lips into a small smile, looking at Michael's lips for a bit longer that he intended to, and then up at his eyes. He then closed his own eyes and moaned softly at the taste of the strudel, really without intentions of seducing Michael with that gesture, but it tasted amazing and had forgotten he was actually having a piece of pastry in his mouth when he was so focused on Michael feeding him, so it was also unexpected. Michael's chocolate cake was delicious, too, but he had barely noticed because he was too busy gawking at James' pleasured face. He swallowed thickly, and said "this is delicious", not being sure what he was referring to anymore, if the food or James or everything at the same time. He wished he could kiss James right then, and he let himself fantasize for a second, imagining his hand on James' gorgeous face, getting closer, licking his lips, biting them softly. "This one's incredible too, you were right", said James, opening his eyes and staring silently at Michael's yearning look directed at him. Well, that certainly worked – he thought –. Michael got out of his trance with James' voice and said, "yeah… yes, I told you, this strudel is fantastic" looking slightly startled and having a piece of it. "Here, try the one you chose", said Michael, feeding him a bite of cake. James smiled and, with what he intended to be an innocent face he reached for the chocolate cake, which was delightful, and celebrated inwardly his little achievement.

 

After an hour or so, they went to the pub by foot because it wasn't far away from the pastry place and they felt like walking, too. Michael had placed his hand on James' middle-almost-low back for a few minutes on the way, and all James could do in those minutes was flush and nod nervously at whatever Michael was saying. Michael opened the door to the pub for James, following him. They got one cozy table and then they went to the bar to order; "please get anything you want, ok?" said Michael, looking at James with a somewhat concerned look, and James nodded with a small grin, "thank you, Michael, but you have paid for everything tonight, can I pay for the drinks now?". Michael moved his head from side to side, "nope, sorry", he said. James laughed, "come on!", "nuh-uh, not while you're with me, mister" said Michael quirking his lip upward. James squinted, "since when I'm the one to be called mister?" and then made puppy eyes at him, "just one? A beer, come on. A small, tiny beer" he said, and Michael laughed, rolling his eyes dramatically, "well if you're going to be cute about it, James. Just one, though, and I'm against this, I'm the one who asked you out". James blushed at being called cute by him, but was thankful it was dark and Michael probably hadn't seen. "Yay, thanks" he said, smiling at him like a child who had just gotten permission to throw water balloons at their neighbors. Michael smiled back fondly and said, "whatever makes you smile at me like that", causing James to blush deeper and bite his lip sheepishly.

 

After a couple of beers each, Michael excused himself and went to the restroom, so James remembered there were other people in the world, specifically his friends, and texted Jen since he knew she'd take care of telling the rest.

 

\- Can I have his babies?

 

\- Lol, you're too cute. Did he sweet talk you into bed already, James?

 

\- Yeah I wish.

 

\- Haha! How's it going!? Why are you texting me? Talk to him, not me!

 

\- It's going great! He's so cool and sexy and interesting. Also, I'm texting cause you told me to? And he's in the loo.

 

\- Oh ok, good. Where did you guys go?

 

\- Different places, all great. I'll tell you everything later. Ok, he's coming now, bye!

 

\- No pun intended? ;) Good luck sweetie, bye!

 

James rolled his eyes at that last message and chuckled. He wished, indeed. They continued talking about everything and nothing for a while, and when they realized the time, they were both surprised. "James, it's 1:00 am", Michael said, looking at his cellphone with wide eyes. "Really? Time passed too fast, I thought it was like 11:00 or something" said James chuckling, "do you wanna leave?" he added. "No. I mean, unless you want to, or if you're tired", said Michael with a concerned look in his eyes. James shrugged, "I'm not the grandpa here", he said with a smile creeping on his face, and Michael laughed merrily, "well, I'm sorry, I thought you had a strict 9:00 pm bedtime like the rest of the kids", he added. They both squinted and then laughed. "Do you really not care?" said Michael, "about the age thing, I mean". "No, I don't. I'm having a great time with you, honestly", said James with a soft but steady voice; Michael smiled, "I am too, and I don't care about it either… you're really mature and very much fun", he said. "Thanks, Michael. So are you" said James, smiling at him and fumbling with the napkin.

 

After a while, the pub was closing so they had to leave. They had to walk back to the car, but it was raining, so Michael told him he could wait for him in there and he'd come to pick him up. James smiled at him and wanted to hug him for being so nice and caring, but instead he took his arm and pulled him to the sidewalk under the rain. "Let's walk, I don't mind getting wet", he said. Michael laughed and nodded, but after a moment he placed his arm around James’ shoulder while they walked, trying to protect him from the rain. James just looked up at Michael's handsome face and felt very warm for being so close to him. It was one of his fantasies, to be kissed under the rain, and he secretly wished Michael did it, but thought it would be nice to wait, too. He usually didn't kiss on the first date, anyway.

 

Michael was thinking everything he could possibly think about that helped him not to just grab James right there under the rain and kiss him madly; he looked so beautiful like this, with his hair wet and his eyes bluer than ever, his lips red and shiny… Oh God, ok, this wasn't helping. Dogs. Fruit. James. No: cats. Sandwiches. James eating sandwiches. Damn it. He remembered that episode of Friends where Phoebe was giving a massage to a very hot guy and she was thinking of Ross eating sandwiches to not focus on his costumer. Or was it Chandler? He chuckled at this and understood her completely. They started talking again, and were actually enjoying walking under the rain a lot. When they arrived to Michael's car, he turned the heat on and tried to get a little warmer, especially because James was shivering a little, but smiling widely. They arrived at James' building and he said he'd bring Michael some clothes or at least a towel, or that if he wanted he could go upstairs with him to get them; Michael said he'd get towel because his clothes wouldn't fit him anyway, and they walked up to James' flat. It was almost 3:00 am, but there was nobody home, so James assumed they were probably still at that party.

 

James was so grateful that the flat was fairly clean, and while Michael was trying to dry off, James got changed quickly and put some coffee on, which Michael thanked deeply. He stayed there until he finished his cup of coffee and was a bit warmer, and then announced he'd leave, because he didn't want to be intrusive, he didn't know James too well after all to know if he was being polite and letting him stay or not, but he didn't want to linger too much. James did seem to be enjoying himself though.

 

“Thank you for everything, James, it was wonderful", said Michael standing one step lower than James on the entrance of his building, so they were face to face. "Me? Thank you! I had an amazing time, really" said James, softly. Michael swallowed, concentrating, because James was so close he could feel his warm breath as he talked, and he was only human. "I'll call you, if you want me to", said Michael, hoping he didn't sound too lame; James chuckled, "I'd love that", he said, smiling. Michael smiled back at him charmingly, "good night, James". Filling himself with courage, James got close to Michael after a moment and kissed him softly on the cheek, a second longer than your usual good-bye kiss and little too close to his lips, so Michael could feel the ghost of it on the corner of his mouth. "Good night Michael" he said, too close, too warm. Michael gasped, feeling his insides burn, and used all his willpower to stay where he was, because he wanted their first kiss not to be in their first date, he wanted to make the thrill longer, better, the way he knew James deserved, so he would wait. This was already perfect by itself, anyway. He smiled and placed a hand on James’ back and pulled him slightly closer to him so they would hug, and reached for James' hand with his own free hand, caressing it slowly and then letting him go. "See you on Monday", he said, going one step down and grinning. James laughed, suddenly remembering Michael was his teacher, and shook his head with a blush, "see you on Monday, Mr. Michael".


	6. Chapter 6

Their class on Monday was interesting, since they struggled by acting like nothing was happening, like they hadn't been on a date two days ago. James had caught Michael gazing at him when everyone was working on their activities, and he'd smiled at him sweetly from his desk. James just wanted the class to end so they could talk; he missed him, even if it made him feel needy and dumb.

 

They had been talking during the weekend, mostly texting, and Michael had called him a couple of times to talk on the phone and it had been fun and exciting, but now that he had Michael in front of him and had to act just like his student, he was getting a little desperate. He did his activities the best he could and restrained from drawing little hearts with M's at the corner of the pages, feeling like a teenager. He was really falling for this man, and even if he felt like he should be worried about him being his teacher, all he could feel was thrill and happiness.

 

When the bell rang, they both felt butterflies in their stomach and James stayed at the end, as usual. "Hi" he said with a little smile, reaching Michael's desk; he placed his palms on it and leant forward, and Michael was still sitting and putting some papers in his binder. "Hi, James" said Michael with a soft voice, sounding liberated. James smiled at him fully, and then looked at Michael's almost empty cup of coffee, getting the lingering smell, and noticed he was starting to relate the smell of coffee with his teacher.

 

“Mmmm" he closed his eyes, "I'd kill for a good cup of coffee right now. I asked Evan to make it today and I don't think I'll ever make that mistake again unless I want slightly brown and tasteless hot water", said James, chuckling a bit. Michael chuckled too and stared at James for a moment, then getting up from his seat he said "would it be a terrible thing for me to do if I asked you to skip the rest of your classes for today and take you to a wonderful coffee shop that I know?" and bit his lip, scrunching his nose a bit, in guilty expectation. James simply answered, "It's the best idea I've ever heard" beaming at him.

 

They left sneakily and in less than 20 minutes they were having a delicious cup of coffee, black for Michael and a Latte for James, in a literature inspired coffee shop that Michael adored. James was instantly in love with the place too, and wondered how he'd never been there before; the lighting was perfect for reading, warm and cosy, and there were all the types of couches, loveseats and chairs that you could imagine, even if it was a smallish place. The walls were filled with literary quotes in small, beautiful typographies and clean frames, and James' favourite detail was that everything in the menu was named after a famous book. He felt like crying a bit because he was feeling too happy and comfortable; it was all lovely, especially the company.

 

Their second date, as improvised as it was, was amazing. They were both now feeling braver to reach for the other's arm when talking, and sat closer to each other with every hour that passed. Michael had stroked James' arm for a long time, and after their second cup of coffee, he had been brave enough to caress his hand and then entwine their fingers. James' heart made a flip at this, but felt so nice, so much at home with Michael's larger hand protecting his. "Thank you, James", Michael had said after a minute of comfortable silence, looking at him with soft eyes, and James placed his head on Michael's shoulder, without the need to ask what Michael was being thankful for, because he knew what he meant, he felt the exact same way. They both smiled contently, staring at entwined fingers and empty mugs.

 

\---------------

\- Do you like food? - Was Michael's text message, which made James laugh.

\- I thought we had established that already…

\- Haha, I'll take that as a yes. Can I cook for you, then?

\- I'd love that! Only if I can help, though.

\- I knew I was releasing a monster when I let you pay for that beer.

\- :) you were. So, when am I testing your cooking skills?

\- How about this Friday at my place? I'll pick you up.

\- Sounds great, can't wait!

\- Me neither :)

\---------------

Friday arrived, as much as James thought it would never come. He had been slightly more worried than their first and second dates because this was going to be at Michael's place, and this involved no more people than just the two of them… like, just him, and Michael. In his house. With couches, and beds. He hid his head in his hands, slightly desperate, trying to not think about this; he knew they hadn't even kissed yet but he hadn't been able not to let his mind wander, dreaming of Michael's lean, strong body, on top of him at some comfortable -or not comfortable, who cares?- horizontal surface. He opened his eyes and peeked through his fingers, feeling his warm cheeks, and got up quickly from his seat at the small kitchen's table in his flat.

 

"I should bring a bottle of wine or something, shouldn't I?" he asked his friends, who were in their living room. Evan and Nick were playing a videogame and Jen and Zoe were talking, both in the small couch. He briefly wondered how there were always two people sitting in there when it was meant for one person. "You definitely should", answered Nick, his eyes still on the T.V. "Yes!" said Jen and Zoe in unison, Evan too concentrated on the screen to say anything. "Ok I have a couple of hours before he gets here, I think I'll get ready first" said James, walking to his bedroom. He chose to wear a pair of tight jeans, a light grey t-shirt and a large blue jumper, which he knew made his eyes look nice. He put on his dark brown combat boots and was satisfied with the way he looked, and thanked himself he didn't ask his friends what to wear this time, because it would've taken an entire hour.

 

When he left his bedroom they were talking, and he noticed the video game was paused; "Hey, you look like you've been taken out from that Clueless movie" said Evan, looking at James' outfit and putting an entire cookie inside his mouth. James laughed and realized that he did look like a 90's kid, but he liked it, so it was fine. "It's nice, though. It was a compliment", added Evan with a smile. "You look cute, keep the outfit", said Jen. "Yeah, I was intending to keep it on", answered James, walking through the flat and looking for his wallet, "at least until later tonight" he added, jokingly. They laughed and whistled as he left the flat with a quick "be right back!"

 

He chose a bottle of wine with the help of a girl who worked there, trusting her because he didn't really know a thing about wine, except that he liked it, the red one. Once back in the flat, the half hour he had left he spent playing that X-men video game so he’d get distracted and loosen up. He received a call in the middle of his character being raised in the air by Magneto and paused it, getting a growl from his friends. It was Michael, who was outside already. He asked if he could go pick him up at his door and James said yes, so when Michael knocked on the door, they all got very silent and nervous, "guys, act normal! Just don't say anything embarrassing", he said as he walked to the door, "you do realize you're asking two things that are opposite from each other, James?" said Jen, chuckling, and they all laughed, agreeing. James rolled his eyes and laughed too, opening the door.

 

Michael stood there, looking too handsome to be true, with a tight V-neck black jumper, a pair of fitting jeans and what looked like motorcycle boots. He was also holding a white daisy in his hand, and looked positively nervous with it, holding it near his chest. James’ heart melted with the look of this man holding a flower for him, so tough and sweet and amazing; they both said hello with a sheepish smile and Michael handed him the small flower. James took it with a smile, going on his tiptoes to hug him, whispering, "thank you, I love it", and heard Michael chuckle, sighing, "you're welcome", he said, returning the hug.

 

James told Michael to come in and he placed the flower in a mason jar that was hanging around. As he came in, everyone said hi to him, and he waved at them with a smile and a nod, saying "hello" back. James announced he was ready to leave, so he pushed Michael softly to the door saying "good night, everyone!" and so did Michael, looking back at them with another bright smile, realizing James didn't want his friends to say something embarrassing so they left as fast as they could, and he smiled fondly at this as he also realized James was holding a bottle of wine in his hand. They heard everyone say "goodbye!" and "have fun!" and James took a last look back at them, catching some winks and waving of hands. Jen was holding her thumbs up, smiling. He smiled too and closed the door.

 

Once parked in Michael's building, he opened James' door and offered a hand for him to get off the car, which was a bit unnecessary but he took it anyway, like he was going to deny himself from any touch or nice gestures that came from Michael. Michael didn't let go of James' hand though, and he held it all the way up to his floor, taking the bottle of wine with his other hand, apparently not letting James do any effort. James smiled at this and felt warm inside; he'd never been treated this way before by a date. Michael let James' hand go for a moment to open the door to his flat; all the while they had been talking about their week.

 

Michael's flat was very nice, he didn't seem to be messy as most of the artists and writers he knew or had seen in movies, or had read about, although he had probably made an effort on making his place look neat because James was going to be there, so he'd have to find out with time. He loved both possibilities, though. The place was cosy, with a lot of wood and dark colours, chocolate and dark grey, with warm lighting and a lot of books and pictures, some posters of book covers, movies or nice illustrations. He felt immediately comfortable, and followed Michael to the kitchen where he placed the bottle of wine on the counter. "Your place is really nice", said James, still looking at the stuff around him. "Thank you, please make yourself at home" said Michael, taking a couple of cups out of the cupboard. "Thanks", said James, looking at Michael's lean waist and broad back as he stretched to grab the cups.

 

"Hey, by the way, I cooked most of the dinner this afternoon because it was going to take too long and too much work if we started all at this hour, but I thought we could make dessert together, how does that sound?" said Michael, taking the corkscrew and starting to open the bottle of wine. "Hey! That's cheating!" said James, faking annoyance and then smiling, "I made Lasagne?" said Michael, looking at James apologetically, "ok, I forgive you", said James, dramatically rolling his eyes after a few moments of pretending to consider it. Michael laughed and got close to James, placing a kiss on his cheek, "thanks, baby", he whispered.

 

James inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, feeling how all his insides melted at Michael calling him that, with that voice and oh, so close to him. He bit his lip and ducked his head a bit, then looked up sheepishly at Michael's eyes. Michael smiled at him, briefly looking at his lips, then turned to take the bottle of wine and the cups, filling them up to the middle. "Here" he said, handing one to James. "Cheers" said James, softly, and looking straight at Michael's beautiful grey-blue eyes. "Cheers", he answered, and they both had a small drink, savouring the wine. "Hm, it's good, I'd never tried this one before", said Michael, raising his eyebrows and looking at the bottle's tag. "Well, you know, I’m very important and a great wine expert", said James, winking at him, "you asked for help in the store, didn't you?" asked Michael, squinting and smiling brightly, taking another sip. "Of course I did", answered James with a little shrug, and they both laughed.

 

Michael put the lasagne in the oven to re-heat it, gave James a tour of his flat, and then they talked in the couch for about half an hour, holding hands. When the food was ready, Michael served them both, letting James help only in setting the table because he had insisted, and he was getting a little nervous because of James tasting his cooking, although he knew he was good; he had learned everything from his father at the restaurant. "Oh God" said James, taking the first bite and closing his eyes at the taste, "this is wonderful, Michael, I might cry" he said, and Michael felt his shoulders relax, as he chuckled and had a taste, too. He had to admit it was quite good. "I'm glad you like it, James" he said, with a smile. "Where did you learn to cook?" he asked, taking another bite. Michael told him everything about his parents' restaurant back in Ireland, and how he worked there during the weekends and in the summers, and had learned to love food and cooked on a regular basis. James continued to praise his cooking skills and Michael felt warm inside, wishing to cook for James every hour of every day.

 

"I don't think I can eat anymore, but if the dessert you're planning is half as good as dinner, I'm going to have to make an effort" he said, smiling teasingly at Michael. "Trust me, you make the effort, it's going to be worth it. Do you want to start cooking it?" he asked, taking the last gulp of his second glass of wine, "yes, of course" said James, trying to help Michael to pick up the plates and being told not to think about it. After Michael had put their plates in the sink, they both moved to the kitchen and started working on that key lime pie from the recipe book that looked fabulous.

 

They worked together in the small kitchen, and Michael seized the perfect opportunity to tease him a bit: instead of asking for the biscuits he needed and were resting next to James' hand, he reached for them from behind him and placed his body very near James', running his hand from his shoulder all the way through his arm, caressing his hand a bit and then taking the biscuits; he felt James tense up with the touch and the nearness of Michael's body behind him, and arched his back a little; he stopped cutting the limes for a second, and then proceeded with a slow pace and a blush on his cheeks.

 

When Michael was blending the mixture, he felt a slight weight on the outside of his arm and turned his head to find James peeking at what he was doing, who then got his hand resting between Michael's shoulder blades as he was slightly leaning onto him. "So is there a special technique for blending this thing?" asked James with bright eyes, looking up at him through eyelashes, like he was being innocent about this. Michael looked at him and smiled, then moved to his side to open up space for James in front of him, "here, I'll show you" he said. They both knew there was no special technique, it was just mixing, but they wouldn't let this opportunity slip up, right? James sneaked in front of Michael, smiling cheekily and grabbing the spatula that he handed him; then Michael got fully behind James with both his arms surrounding him, grabbed the spatula over James' hand, and began guiding the movement. He placed his chin on James' shoulder, and muttered some silly instructions that made James chuckle.

 

Once they had put the pie in the fridge, all that was left to do was wait for it to cool and put the whipped topping on. James sat on a tall stool with the kitchen bar behind him, and took the topping to taste it with his finger, which Michael saw him do and asked, "How is it? I haven't tried this brand before, but it looked better than the rest" and got closer to James, standing in front of him. "It's really good", answered James, and took another small portion with his finger. Looking up at him, he reached up with his hand and without thinking much, he put the topping of his finger on the tip of Michael's nose; Michael's eyes widened and then chuckled, "hey!" he said, and James just said "I'm sorry", in a soft voice, placing both of his hands on Michael's cheeks and pulling him closer, cleaning the topping off his nose with a small kiss, "there", he said, letting him go, "it's clean now"; as he pulled back from Michael, he saw Michael's eyes darken, his lips slightly parted and one corner of his mouth pulling up a bit, in a slightly scary but sexy as hell smile.

 

Michael was now leaning onto him and supporting himself on the kitchen bar behind James, caging him with his arms, and took a bit of the topping with his finger too, looking at him in the eye and spreading it at the line of James' jaw. He kissed it clean, as chastely as he could, but getting too hot at the sensation of James' skin under his lips. James gasped and waited for Michael to pull back from him, and decided he didn't intend to continue with this little game for much longer; he took a last small portion of topping and reached up, but instead of spreading it over Michael, he spread it on his own lower lip, waiting, his heart throbbing dangerously.

 

It didn't take longer than a second for Michael to reach for James' lips, growling slightly. James moaned softly and instantly at the feeling of Michael's glorious lips on his, their mouths moving a little desperately, releasing the tension they had been building up for a long time now. Michael groaned at the sound James had made, because there was nothing in this world that could be sexier than that, and he realized he was being a little rough, so he pulled himself together and slowed down a bit, making the kiss more sensual. He felt James' hands around his neck, with the sleeves of his big jumper covering most of his fingers, leaving just the top half out, and he somehow found this incredibly sexy, how it made James look and feel small; the idea of it drove Michael a bit crazy, wanting to pick him up and rise him up against a wall or something, but thought there would be time for that in the future, hopefully.

 

Michael ran his hands through James' back, down to his hips and then back between his shoulder blades, while James' hands wandered around Michael's upper body, through his hair and back down at his strong shoulders and arms. With one hand on his neck and the other holding bicep tightly, stroking it, he said "Michael, you're so fucking hot" passionately, throwing his head back a bit and letting Michael kiss down his chin and through his jaw. Michael moaned at his comment and stopped for a second, sighing and reaching for his ear, whispering, "you, James…" he licked his earlobe slowly, "are the most exquisite man I have ever seen", and nipped right where he had licked before. James groaned, and pulled himself closer to Michael, who was already standing in between James' legs. "You have no idea" continued Michael between kisses and licks through James' neck, "how long I've been wanting to do this", James chuckled, "trust me, I do", and Michael chuckled warmly too.

 

James licked Michael's lower lip, slowly, teasingly, with a sigh and a look that were deliberately asking Michael to be rougher – so Michael acted on it. He ran his hands down James' back and grabbed his hips with full open hands as he pulled him as close as they could be, letting James feel his hard-on through his jeans. James moaned into Michael's mouth and then pulled away from him to grab some air, placing his forehead on Michael's chin, looking down.

 

He couldn't help but thrust his hips, holding him tightly with his fingers crossed behind Michael's neck. They both moaned at the feeling, and Michael moved his hands from James' hips back to his bum, and pulled him closer again, thrusting his hips softly. "Ah, Michael, yes" James said, hotly. Michael did it again, and James kept making small noises, his cheeks red and his eyes shiny with lust, and he started kissing and licking Michael's neck, making him moan and thrust slightly harder, "Ah, baby", he moaned in a low, sexy voice, and James bit his own lip at Michael calling him that again; for some reason he found it too hot. "I like it when you call me that" he said between small moans and kisses, running a finger through Michael's cheek, which continued throughout his neck and finished placing his whole palm on his chest, admiring how firm it was. "Mmm, you do?" he asked softly, "Mhm", answered James, "I do", and pulled at Michael's lower lip, wrapping his legs around Michael's hips.

 

Michael sighed and kissed James slowly once again, rolling their tongues together, enjoying his taste, his warmth, the feeling of James' body so near, so intimate; the deliciously smooth skin under his hands as he touched underneath his jumper, caressing his lower back, and James' erection against his… it was driving him crazy.

 

He knew he had to stop soon or things would get out of control, and by things he meant himself. Of course he wanted to continue, he had dreamt of making love to James one too many times, and he also suspected that if he asked, James wouldn't say no, but he knew it wasn't the right time, so he'd wait, for James. They could definitely keep the kissing going on though, he just wanted to make it clear that, for tonight, he didn't plan on anything else to happen; he didn't want James to feel pressured.

 

"James, babe, I don't want to rush you into anything", he said, as James nibbled at a spot on Michael's neck. "You're not", said James, "please, don't worry about me, I'm not doing anything that I don't want to do", he added, looking up at Michael. "Fuck, you're hot. Is there anything that you want to do?” he asked, hooking the neck of Michael's jumper in his finger and bringing him closer, being too sexy for his own good. "That I'd like to do? Like what?" asked Michael lowly, looking at James' beautiful features with darkened eyes. "Me?" said James softly, with an expression that was filled with lust, innocence and expectation. Michael closed his eyes at the boldness and sensuality of James' proposal, and almost said yes.

 

“Ah, James… please" he said, caressing James' abdomen with his thumb, relishing on the feeling, "I'm dying to. Trust me. And I think this is the hardest thing that I have ever done, but I'm going to have to ask you to think twice. You deserve so much more than asking me to make love to you, sweetheart. I should be the one to beg to even touch you, and I want to be a gentleman, and woo you, and earn the chance to have you, if you want me to". James looked at him with slightly raised eyebrows and kissed him softly after a moment.

 

"So you really are the perfect man, huh?" he said, pulling off softly from Michael's mouth to talk, smiling. "What do you mean?" said Michael, still a bit dizzy from the kiss, "well, you're smart, handsome, you can cook and you're also a gentleman. What else can anybody ask for?" Michael smiled and took a tighter hold of James in his arms to pick him up from the stool, "come here" he said, and James gasped and held tighter to Michael's neck and hips with his arms and legs, laughing, "hey! Where are you taking me?" he asked, and Michael just walked to the living room carrying James, placing him on the couch. He kneeled on the floor between James' legs, thought of the possibilities, swallowed thickly and just ran his hands along James' thighs, placing his forearms on the sides, sending his body upfront to kiss him.

 

"You're too beautiful", he said at James' mouth. "You are", he answered back, quickly. "Michael, you are the most handsome, interesting, sexiest person that I've ever gone out with or, well, met. Thank you for being so, so nice to me" he said with the cutest look in his eyes, and Michael felt like his heart melted a little bit. "You deserve the best, James. Thank you for letting me try to be it".


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I must warn you, this chapter has liiiittle more explicit content, haha. Enjoy! xx

The Saturday after their date at Michael’s, he picked James up at his flat during the afternoon and they went for a walk in Kensington Gardens; it was autumn and the weather was lovely, and there was nothing more beautiful than autumn in London, according to Michael. Well, except for James, obviously. They held hands during their walk, shared pecks on the cheek and a few quick kisses, because they couldn't help it; after sunset, Michael noticed James had cold fingers and the tip of his nose was slightly red, so it was time to warm him up.

They went to a coffee shop near the park, and bought hot chocolate for James and black coffee for Michael, sat at a table for two near the window and talked, the way they could always talk, both making each other laugh and sharing sweet looks of newly uninhibited adoration. They didn't say it out loud, but all they both really wanted to do at the moment was kiss and cuddle, since they discovered they could do that only a day ago, so once they were warmed up with their drinks, they decided to go to Michael's flat to hang out there.

"Hey" said James, running his index finger along Michael's cheek, feeling his stubble. "Yes?" answered Michael, as he caressed James' lower back. They were both sitting on Michael's couch, facing each other; Michael's legs were extended and James was sitting in the space between them, with his own legs surrounding Michael's hips. They had ended in that position for some reason, because they had started sitting in the couch like normal people do, but they were comfortable and close in this new way, so they just stayed like that.  
James sighed, "when are we going to talk about what's going to happen at school?" he asked sheepishly, looking at his finger on Michael's cheek, avoiding his eyes. "Right now?" said Michael, wanting to make James comfortable and happy. James chuckled and looked down. Michael took James' chin and lifted his head up to look him in the eyes; "hey, gorgeous, nothing's wrong with asking, okay? I've been thinking about it too. I don't know… if you’re comfortable with it, maybe we can keep it quiet during this semester while I'm still your teacher, and I'll ask what's school's policy on dating students that aren't in your class, for the next semester. If it's forbidden, then I'll quit, and if it's just frowned upon, then they can frown upon my ass" said Michael, joking at the end. James laughed, so it worked; "you don't have to quit, we can keep it secret until I graduate, which is in summer, and it's less than a year from now. I mean, we don't know if we'll be together until then, maybe you'll grow tired of me", said James, half jokingly but actually worrying a little about it, and he was now running his finger along Michael's clavicle, trying to sound a bit casual. "Hey! Don't say that… I mean, yeah, we're just starting this, us, but I intend to keep you", he said, smiling reassuringly, and then reached for James’ lips to kiss him sweetly, "I like you, very much. And if you want to stay with me, then I really don't want to be in a secret relationship because some old man in a school says it's wrong. I'd quit because I'd want to, and nothing would make me happier than that if it meant that I'd be with you freely", he said very near James' mouth, looking straight at him. James eyes softened, and so did his shoulders and grip. "Michael, you're just…the best. And I intend to keep you too" said James, sealing his lips with Michael's and running his hands through his hair, kissing him enthusiastically.  
\---------------  
Through next week, their classes had actually been very much fun for both of them, now that the tension of -he likes me, he likes me not- was gone, and other type of tensions were flourishing. On Monday, things were "normal" during class, and at the end they had had a quick make out session in the bathroom -like freakin' teenagers- thought Michael, but well, who cares? They certainly didn't. On Wednesday though, James had sent Michael a text that asked him to be five minutes early. James got to the classroom a bit before Michael, and when he arrived, James jumped him and pressed him against the door, kissing him thoroughly. It was so sexy and thrilling to make out in the classroom, not to mention dangerous, although they didn't care in that moment since they could just concentrate on each other. A couple of minutes before the bell rang, they both agreed it was time for them to start acting "correctly" and open the door in case someone arrived early, so they did. They both kept a mischievous smile and sparkly eyes all class.

They were both waiting for their Friday date anxiously, and it was there that James asked him if he wanted to join him and his friends on Saturday night so they could all meet because they were getting on his nerves already, asking when Michael was going to hang out with them for more than five seconds so they could actually get to know him - and his intentions, as Evan had said half jokingly. They were right, though, he was just a little nervous about it. Michael said he'd love that, so on Saturday morning James gathered his friends at the usual breakfast they had together and told them about it. They all got very excited and started planning the evening, deciding they'd order pizza and have drinks at home, and the girls got all worked up about some cool drinks recipes they had seen on Pinterest and said they'd try them tonight.

James was very nervous because even if he loved his friends very much, they were all his age after all, and was worried that Michael would get bored or realize he was dating someone too young for him, or something horrible like that. After brooding on it for a bit, he then consciously remembered how sweet and cool Michael was, and thought that if he had liked James, then he'd probably like his friends. Michael, on the other hand, was worried about James' friends not liking him or thinking he was a creepy old guy who liked to date his students, but, as James, he thought that if James was so great, his friends were probably great too, and relaxed a little. Still, he'd wear his converse shoes or something that helped him look younger, even if he was young, but not as young as 18.

He got a pair of jeans on, and stayed shirtless for a good while, staring at his closet, thinking. He decided to wear a white and grey plaid shirt that was tight enough to let him show off the muscles of his shoulders and arms and looked casual, so it seemed good enough for the occasion. James had told him about the plan on the drinks so he was excited because he had experience as a bartender too, something he’d done sometime as a summer job, and looked for some of his old utensils to take them with him; as he was cleaning them, he received a message from James.

\- Hello handsome :) At what time will you come here?  
\- Hello handsome to you! I don't know, 8:00? Or whenever you want me to.  
\- How about nooowww? I miss you…  
\- Haha, you're lovely. I'll leave in 10 minutes. And I miss you too!

James was reading in the couch, waiting for Michael, as he heard a soft knock on the door and went to open it. Evan was at the girls' flat because he knew Michael was coming and he wanted to give them some alone time before they all got there for drinks.  
“Hi, you" said James as soon as he saw Michael standing outside his door, and got closer to hug him. "Hi, baby" said Michael, hugging him back and then placing his hand on James' cheek and kissing him sweetly; James smiled and pulled apart after a few seconds, grabbing Michael's hand and kissing his knuckles softly.

Michael smiled too, and said, "wow, you look stunning", staring at James. He was wearing a figure hugging beige sweater and jeans, and a pair of converse, too, just that, but he did look stunning. James blushed a bit and grinned, "thank you", he whispered, sending his body very close to Michael and running him up and down with his eyes, "you, mister" he said, smiling beautifully at him "look so gorgeous tonight, I'm thinking of telling everybody to stay home and keep you just to myself". Michael laughed and said, "Well, I wouldn't refuse to that" seductively, kissing the corner of James' mouth and letting it linger. James chuckled and bit his lower lip; he hadn't let go of Michael's hand, so he pulled him inside the flat, saying, "Here, let's come in".

Michael left his stuff on the counter, asking "so, where's everybody?” as he nonchalantly looked at the book James had left hanging around; it was a worn out copy of On the Road by Jack Kerouac. He smiled at this, because he liked this book a lot, too. "They're at the girls' flat, next door" said James as he returned from putting Michael's leather jacket on the couch, "so we have a little bit of time for ourselves" he added, reaching Michael from behind, surrounding his waist with his arms and resting his cheek in between his shoulder blades, a spot that seemed to be made for him exactly; he heard Michael gasp and felt his back curve slightly. Michael left the book on the counter and grabbed James' hands, which were resting at his belly, "I see… I like that" he said, entwining his fingers with James', who got on his tiptoes and kissed the nape of Michael's neck, causing him to gasp softly again as he closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling, and after a bit he slowly turned around to face James. "Hi, sexy" he said with a raspy voice, circling James' back with his arms as he kissed his lips. James chuckled sweetly into the kiss, and played with his tongue inside Michael's mouth, his hands on his cheeks and hair, and his body getting as closer to Michael as he could.

Michael's hands got lower, down James' back until he reached his bum, and he grabbed it tentatively at first, but since James seemed to like it, he grabbed a bit tighter and squeezed it, causing James to moan slightly and chuckle nervously; Michael smiled and said "I like you" against James lips. "I like you too, so much" said James, running his hands along Michael's arms; Michael was starting to notice James seemed to have a thing for his arms, and he liked it. He grasped James' hips and gave a few steps to have him against a wall, and caged him with his arms, moving to kiss his neck as James whimpered, his head thrown slightly backwards. There was a sound coming from James' pocket, but he didn’t do anything about it. "I think you have a message", said Michael against James' skin; "I don't care", said James with his eyes closed, "don't ignore it, James", said Michael chuckling. James grumbled and took his phone, eyeing the text from Evan's number written on his screen.

\- You're done making out? Can we go there now?  
\- No, we're not done actually.  
\- Okay we're coming anyway!

James rolled his eyes and grinned. "They're coming", he said to Michael, who was caressing his sides and looking at him expectantly. "Okay", he said, smiling and giving him a chaste kiss, "we can finish this later" he whispered, as he pulled apart. James nodded and smiled, wishing it was later already.

There was a knock on the door followed by it being opened, with Jen leading them all. He should've known. "Hello!" they said as they came in, carrying some stuff and putting it on the counter. "Okay everybody, I'll introduce" said James, and they all stood still near him and Michael, expectantly, as Michael watched with a smile and his hands on his pockets; he introduced everyone by their names and there were some "so you're the famous Evan" or "we've heard so much about you" exchanged in the process, along with a lot of handshakes and smiles. They moved to the living room and it wasn't long before Nick ordered the pizzas, as Jen and Zoe started trying to make those drinks. The flat was small so they could all hang out at the same time even if some were in the kitchen and some in the living room. Soon the questioning at Michael began, but it was friendly and actually fun; he was great at having conversation, and James was happy to notice that Michael was being really charming and there was no way someone could not like him.

"Here!" said Jen, interrupting something Evan was saying about his hometown, bringing the blender and some cups to the living room with help from Zoe. "We made drinks with recipes from the Internet, so don't judge if they're terrible, we haven't tried them either", she added. They all grabbed a cup and tried the drinks, which weren't bad but weren't the best; Michael didn't want to say anything that could seem rude but they could use some help at making them, and James talked before he did, "you know, Michael used to be a bartender" he said at the girls. "Really? You could help us!" said Zoe, excited, "now I feel self conscious about our attempts" said Jen, laughing in a silly way. They all laughed with her and Michael said, "No, they're good! But I'd love to help. Actually, James told me you wanted to make drinks so I brought some of my old instruments, if you want to learn how to use them", and he had a gulp of his not-so-great drink. "Yes!" they both said loudly, so he grinned and laughed softly, got up and gave James a kiss on the cheek before he left to the kitchen to teach them how to correctly prepare those same drinks they were attempting to make.

The night was lovely, they had lots of different drinks that were, with Michael's help, "fucking amazing" in Evan's words. They all got along very well, and James couldn't be happier, and neither could Michael that things were going so well. "I'm so glad you're here", said James at Michael's ear, a bit tipsy and smiling, as they sat on the couch holding hands. "I know, me too", he said back, turning his face to James to kiss him softly.

James smiled and took a sip from his cup, moaning softly at the taste, "why are you so good at everything you do?" he said, and without waiting for an answer he added, "you know", raising his eyebrows knowingly, "if you quit from school, you should open a restaurant and be the chef AND the bartender. And we could write a book about it, or write a recipe book" he said jokingly, and as Michael laughed, James stared, smiling, "or you could be a model, you'd be a millionaire". Michael's smile lingered and he looked affectionately at James, "thank you gorgeous, but don't worry about that. I've been offered a few other teaching gigs at a couple of universities and have been talking to some editors about my work, I have other options" he said, caressing James' hand. "And you're the one with the modeling potential, not me" he added, smiling at him. "Oh, that's great Michael!" said James smiling and looking genuinely happy, "and yeah, right, you say that like you haven't seen yourself in a mirror", Michael just rolled his eyes and grinned. "I'm very lucky", added James, getting closer to Michael and looking at him lovingly, which Michael found too sweet. "I'm the lucky one, James", he said.

Around 2:30, everyone's energy seemed to had died a little, even though they were having lots of fun, but they were getting tired, not to mention slightly drunk; Jen announced she was going to sleep and Nick followed her, saying good night to everybody and telling Michael he'd have to come visit often and how great it had been to meet him. Zoe and Evan stayed a while longer, until Zoe was almost falling asleep on the couch, and said she'd go to sleep too. Evan ate the last slice of pizza, which was cold now, and said he'd go to his room because he didn't want to be the third wheel, "but it has been terrific to finally meet you, Mr. Fassbender", he had said, winking at them and smiling as he headed to his room. Michael and James laughed at the nickname, and waved him good night.

"Well, maybe I should go too, it's already past 3:00", said Michael, stretching in his spot on the couch. "Well" started James, getting closer to Michael and taking the hem of his shirt between his fingers, "it's late, and aren't you a little tipsy? You could stay here if you want", he said, trying to look casual but clearly a bit nervous. "I could?" asked Michael after a couple of seconds, with a seductive look in his eyes that made James shudder, in a good way. "Of course" said James, taking Michael's hand, "I'd love it if you did". Michael smiled and kissed the corner of his mouth, "I'll stay then, thank you". James smiled at him. “Do you want something else before we go to my room? Water? Coffee? Food?" he said, getting up from his seat. Michael followed him and chuckled softly, "sure, some water would be fine, thanks" and James grabbed a couple of glasses for them both, then showed Michael to his room.

"You think we're both the same trousers size? Maybe these will fit because they're too long for me", he said, looking into his closet and handing Michael a pair of pajama trousers, then grabbing a pair for himself, and also a couple of long sleeved shirts, "you're lucky I sleep with big shirts because the ones that fit me would be too tight on you" said James as he handed the shirt to Michael, who was sitting on his bed, and kissed him on the cheek, "I wouldn't complain on the tightness though" he added, smiling. Michael smiled at him too and said "thank you, babe. I usually sleep shirtless, but I'll be decent tonight", winking at him and knowing exactly what he was doing to the poor James, who raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously. "I'll go change in the bathroom, feel free to change here while I'm gone" said James, pecking him on the forehead and leaving the room.

Michael stared longingly at James' walking figure, and then changed into his pajamas, which smelled like James and it gave him all the feelings. They actually did fit, tightish, but it was fine, and he couldn't help to picture James wearing these same clothes that were slightly big for him; he tried to ignore the movement in his lower belly as he thought of how sexy he found it that James was smaller than him. He suddenly worried about the situation he was in: he was going to sleep on James' bed, and he didn't know how strong he was to actually keep his hands to himself for a whole night.

James changed in the bathroom, feeling very nervous because well, he was going to sleep with Michael. And even if sleeping was all they did, it was still a big step, and Michael was too sexy and adorable and he was a little bit drunk and horny, to be honest. He put his shirt on, which was chosen carefully to not be too big on him because he didn't want to look like a freaking teddy bear tonight; a plain black v neck, long sleeved shirt and plaid pajama pants. He brushed his teeth and went to his room, to find Michael changed into his pajamas already, looking gorgeous, and waiting for him on the bed, looking at the pictures he had near his bed. They both smiled as they looked at each other, and James offered him a new toothbrush he had, and told him it could be his toothbrush for when he stayed there. Michael thanked him, smiling, and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

James heard a soft knock and saw Michael come in. "Hi" he said from his spot in his individual bed, under the blankets, "hi, you" said Michael, as he got under the blankets too, both of them feeling butterflies in their stomachs. "Sorry about the small bed, I conveniently forgot to tell you", said James as he reached for the night lamp and turned it on, then turned off the lights of the rest of the room. Michael laughed, "yeah, I noticed. It's perfect, though, this way we don't get cold and we get to whisper", he said as he put his arm around James' waist and pulled him slightly closer. James felt instantly aroused at this, as if his body suddenly got the memo of how he was in bed with Michael for crying out loud, but tried to control himself because he didn't want to look too eager too fast. He breathed in and out and smiled softly.

He asked Michael about their night with his friends, if he had liked them, how he had felt; they talked for a long time about it and also about the things James wanted to do when he graduated from high school. When they realized, it had been almost an hour since they had gotten in bed. "I love talking to you, it's always so easy and fun" said James, staring at Michael's eyes a bit sleepily. Michael smiled, "I love talking to you too, James. You're wonderful", he said as he caressed his side, since they were both lying on their sides facing each other, "wonderful and gorgeous", added Michael near James' lips. James had been stroking Michael's arm, and he squeezed his bicep as he felt Michael's fingertips crawl under his shirt and caress him, and his warm breath so near his mouth. Michael licked James' lower lip very slowly, with just the tip of his tongue, and then bit it softly, causing James to whimper and close his eyes.

They kissed softly at first, but then it heated up and it continued that way for a few minutes; Michael was feeling lightheaded, with the taste of James' mouth and his soft, warm skin under his fingertips, almost electric at the touch. He felt James' back curve and, knowing what that meant, he pulled him closer and on top of him, surprising James in a good way. A wonderful way, actually. James got even hotter at the strength demonstration and the feeling of Michael's hard-on against his, and moaned into Michael's mouth, kissing him thoroughly and spreading his legs slightly, straddling him. Michael moaned too and bucked his hips as he grabbed James' hip with one hand that was slowly creeping downwards, and the other hand on his upper back. James' hands were on Michael's neck and arms, stroking him with desire. "Fuck, Michael" he said panting against his lips, letting Michael guide a slow movement of their hips, causing them both to blush and moan silently.

Michael lowered his both hands and grabbed James' bum, squeezing it and using his thumbs to lower his pajama trousers an inch, then slowly sliding his fingers under them and James' underwear to caress and squeeze without any fabric in the way. James moaned at the feeling of Michael's big, strong hands squeezing his bum, and Michael was too worked up at all the feelings and sensations. "James, your ass is amazing", he said without thinking much, and felt slightly embarrassed immediately, but it was true, and James seemed to have liked it because he smiled against his mouth and thrust his hips with a groan, "thanks, babe" he said huskily, running his hands along Michael's arms and, kneeled on the bed, pulling the other man up with him, taking Michael's shirt off slowly, his heart on his throat as he did.

As his shirt was being taken off, Michael had a look on his face that James couldn't completely describe, but he looked amazed and seduced and so, so sexy James could cry. Once Michael was shirtless, James did feel like he would actually cry from happiness. He stared at him; his chest, his abs, his shoulders and arms, everything was perfect. "Wow", he said, speechless, and Michael's lip pulled up in a small smile as he watched James looking at him. James ran a finger along Michael's arm, his bicep, and with both hands squeezed his strong shoulders. With open fingers and slightly parted lips, he stroked Michael's chest and then ran one hand along his stomach, shifting in his place and swallowing thickly. "Michael, your body…" he said, and kept silent for a moment, staring, then looked at his eyes and moved his hands to Michael's neck, "you're so incredibly hot, I can’t… god" he said, closing his eyes and chuckled at how he was quite literally without words, and placed their foreheads together. Michael chuckled too, and without saying anything he grabbed James' shirt and pulled at it, removing it, excited and expectant.

Once he was shirtless, James bit his lip, feeling too exposed at the sight of this gorgeous, perfect man, since he thought he had a very non-perfect body of his own. Michael's reaction was a lot like James' had been though; he was staring in awe, and his breathing became a bit heavier as he ran his eyes through James' body. He was not as strong and muscly as Michael, but he was perfect in Michael's opinion, with gorgeous white skin, freckles that lasted for days and directed his eyes to the most interesting places, lean muscled arms and nipples that begged to be kissed by him. He ran his hands along James' back and then his arms, and with one hand he caressed his chest and flicked his nipple, making James whimper and shift again in his place. Michael reached for that same nipple with his mouth and sucked and licked, then bit softly, "you're fucking gorgeous", said Michael against James' chest, looking up at him, and James grabbed Michael's head, spreading his fingers through his hair, moaning and placing his chest against Michael's mouth again, wanting more of that. He continued kissing his nipples, then rose up to his neck, jaw and finally his mouth, kissing him slowly.

After a few minutes of stroking each other's upper body, James on Michael's lap, both of them panting and slowly thrusting their hips, they were too turned on. James parted from Michael's mouth just to take some air, and, looking down, he hooked his fingers on Michael's trousers and underwear hem and started pulling softly, silently asking a question. Michael looked at what he was doing and, with wide eyes, looked up at James and gave a small nod. James pulled slowly and Michael lifted his hips, making the muscles on his tummy tighten and look too delicious, James thought. Once the pants were low enough and not in the way, James stared, once again, at the marvel he had in front of him.

He had felt Michael through his own hard-on and knew he was big, but mate, this he didn't expect. "Oh… wow", he repeated, feeling stupid, but not enough to care too much. He reached tentatively with his hand, looking up at Michael, who was staring at James' face with a small smile. "Thanks" said Michael, and with his own hand he guided James' to grab his dick and stroke softly, to which both of them moaned, especially Michael. James continued stroking him, up and down, with a slow but steady pace, feeling too aroused to think of anything else than this amazing moment. Michael looked too good, with his darkened eyes looking right at him, his head thrown backwards, resting on the wall, and grabbing James' sides, from his bum to his hips and his legs, and back.

James licked Michael's jaw, kissed it, and then against his mouth, he muttered something he had been dreaming to do for a while now, and couldn't wait any longer to say so; "Michael, baby, I want to blow you" he said, as he kept stroking his cock, and continued kissing his lips. Michael moaned at his words and mumbled, "oh fuck", almost soundlessly, as he closed his eyes and bucked his hips at James' hand, "do you want me to?" he asked, seductively, sending his body weight upfront, and all Michael could do was wimper a bit, nod and kiss him. "You're too hot" he managed to say, as they laid on the bed, James kissing his chest, his stomach, and as he stroked his legs and hip bones, he looked up at Michael, who was looking down at him, panting.

He gave a lick from the base to the tip, impressed of how long it was, and Michael thrust his hips as he moaned, making James want to do it again just to see and hear Michael like this. He felt too aroused at what he was doing, he had dreamt about this too many times before, and he didn't even know then what Michael looked like naked; now that he knew, it was impossible not to want him, not to want Michael on top of him, making love, carrying him, sucking him, behind him, whatever, anywhere, any way he wanted.

Feeling the burn inside his belly, he took most of it in his mouth, at least all he could, and sucked as he moved his head up and down, slowly, teasingly, as he heard Michael moan his name; he circled Michael's dick with his tongue a few times and let go, licking again from the bottom to the top, this time looking at Michael in the eye with a sexy smile and feeling a bit slutty, but he actually liked the feeling. He licked the tip and pressed it with his tongue, then sucked and spread his own legs involuntarily, curving his back, and Michael could get an amazing view of his ass like this, causing him to moan some unintelligible words.

He could taste some of the pre-come, and moaned before gruntinh "mmm, Michael, you taste so good", sucking harder at him, making Michael whimper under his touch and mouth. After a few minutes, James noticed Michael was grabbing the blanket with both of his hands in fists, so he took one of his hands and guided it to his own head, "wanna lead, babe?" he asked seductively, and Michael stared and nodded, then caressed his hair and started guiding James' movements, thrusting into his mouth, both too turned on and enjoying it so much James thought he was going to come like this after a couple of minutes, and he wasn't even touching himself.

Michael began thrusting faster and clearly not as hard as he could, but hard enough, "I'm almost coming", he said, panting, and James nodded, not moving away; Michael looked down at him and stopped thrusting his hips, taking James by his shoulders and pulling him up carefully; as James asked "what is it?" Michael answered, quickly, "I'm not coming in your mouth, James" with a serious and lustful look on his face, "why not? I want you to, really" said James, kissing his mouth now that he was up there again. "Because the first time we come, we'll do it together", he said, carrying James slightly as he switched places with him in a smooth movement, so he was on top and James under him, as he reached for both of their dicks and grabbed them with the same hand.

James decided it was time for him to accept that he undoubtedly found it too sexy every time that Michael did something like that, manhandling him; he definitely liked when he showed control and that he was stronger and bigger than him. He found himself helplessly turned on under his teacher's body, letting him jerk them both off deliciously, moaning Michael's name, kissing and licking and biting every inch of his face, his neck, his amazing shoulders, everywhere he could reach. They were both panting as Michael quickened his movements and the rhythm of their hips was in perfect unison, "fuck, James, yes baby" said Michael into his mouth, with some last strong strokes and thrusts, and all James could do was moan over and over again, until they both finished, panting into each other's skin, Michael releasing his grip and switching places once again so he didn't let all of his weight fall on James' body.

Michael caressed James' lower back as he recovered, and James looked up at him from his spot on the other man's chest, and said, "Michael, that was… you were… wow", and smiling, he added "I like you, so, so much", breathlessly, with other words in his eyes and in his heart, but he wouldn't say them yet, he didn't know how. Michael gazed at this beautiful man with the big baby blue eyes and the gorgeous soul, and his own heart melted inside his chest. "You were wow. Thank you, beautiful" he said, taking James' hand and kissing his knuckles, making him blush. "I like you so much too, and I want to use other words than liking because it sounds so much smaller than what I feel. Just, please know that in here – he placed James' hand on his chest – you're taking up all the place, and there's nothing that makes me happier than that". James felt warm inside at the words, a way he'd never felt before, and smiling, he crawled up to reach Michael's mouth and kissed him softly, lovingly. After cleaning themselves up, they fell asleep almost instantly, holding each other's bodies and dreams with a gentle smile on their lips.


	8. Chapter 8

Three wonderful weeks had passed since the day Michael had slept at James' flat, and they just seemed to be falling deeper for each other. Michael was the sweetest, most romantic person James had ever met, and sometimes he thought it was because of all the books he had read; all the poems and love stories had clung to his bones, and at the end of the day he was an artist, it was in his nature. James loved this about him, and even though he was romantic as well, Michael had already cooked for him a couple more times, bought him his favorite flowers, dinner, and an endless amount of cups of coffee, not to mention all the amazing dates he took James to; even when they were just walks in the rain, holding hands underneath a shared umbrella, he always made them seem magical.

 

It was Monday, and James' mother was having her birthday party next weekend in Scotland; he was worried about not knowing if it was appropriate to invite Michael, or if it was too soon. He definitely wanted him to go, but he was his teacher, and a man, and he didn't even know how he'd start explaining this to his parents. He knew they suspected James was gay, and he knew they would be okay with it since they were open minded and loved him and his sister Joy more than anything; this is what he grew up listening to every day, but it was still going to be a little shocking for them if he arrived home holding hands with a man who was older than him and telling everyone they were a couple and oh, he was his Literature teacher, too. Happy birthday, mum. Anyway, he was going to ask Michael what his thoughts were on this and then he'd decide what to do, maybe his sister could help him decide, since she was the only one who knew about James' preferences in their family.

 

At the end of class James lingered and, smiling nervously, he approached Michael, who was approaching him too. "Hi" he said, putting his brown leather backpack on, with a sided smile. "Hi" said Michael smiling back, and tilting his head, he asked, "what's wrong?" noticing James' apprehensiveness. James shook his head, "nothing's wrong, I just wanted to ask you something. Can I ask you something?" he said, looking up at Michael and fumbling with the zipper of his jacket. Michael smiled tenderly and said, "of course, ask away".

 

"Okay" said James, sighing, "My mum's birthday is this weekend and she's throwing a big family party, so I'm going home since Friday, and will be back on Sunday afternoon. I… you know my parents don't know I'm gay, well they probably know but I haven't told them myself, and I haven't told them I'm dating someone either… I want to talk to them about it this weekend, either by myself or with you, if you want to come or think it's appropriate… I would love you to come with me, but I don't know if it's the right time. I know it wasn't a question, but tell me what you think about it, please" said James, his eyes a bit wider as he expected Michael to say something.  
Michael breathed in and out deeply, thinking. "Okay, where do I start?" he said, closing his eyes and frowning slightly, "I'm flattered, and so happy that you're thinking of inviting me, I'd be delighted to meet your family, and I think it's wonderful that you're talking to your parents about us, and specially about you. If you want me to be there for support, I will, even if it's just to hold your hand, but in my own experience, I think it's better for you and your parents if you come out to them by yourself, because it's an important step for your whole family" said Michael, reaching for James' hand after briefly looking at the door to see if someone was around. James nodded in agreement, "yeah, you're probably right" he said.

 

"On the other hand, I have an important meeting with an editor this Saturday, to talk about some arrangements about the book I've been working on. I was going to tell you about it today, actually, since he called very early this morning… If you want me to be there with you, though, as I said, I'll be there", said Michael, smiling reassuringly. "What? Really? Babe, that's awesome!" said James, excited and squeezing Michael's hand, frustrated that he couldn't jump and hug him tightly as he wanted, because they were at school and they had an agreement now that they wouldn't risk it as much as they did during their first week as a couple. "Please don't skip or reschedule your meeting, let's take it as a sign and we'll both do what we have to do. I would love it if you came with me, but it is more important to me that you go to this meeting, honestly. Also, my house will always be there and we can plan on going soon, if you want, and I know my parents will be fine with all of this, and they will love you". 

Michael smiled and nodded, looking briefly at the door again and then kissing James' lips very quickly. "I would love that, thank you", he said with a little, charming smile. The bell rung and James' eyes widened since he should be in his other classroom by now, "fuck, I have to go", Michael chuckled and pushed him delicately towards the door, "Run! I'll call you later", he said, as James turned to flash a last smile at him before he left quickly. Michael's smile lingered as he gazed at the now empty door, and felt how his heart fluttered with how much he adored this man.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

It was only 10:00 am on Saturday and everyone at home was already going crazy with chores to be ready for the party. James was enjoying a bike ride since he had been sent to buy bread, the crisp autumn wind on his face reminding him of his younger years, when he felt so big and proud every time his mother sent him to buy stuff to the shop. He also thought of Michael, and missed him, as he was now the one who covered him from the cold and warmed up his fingers with his own hands. He smiled at the thought and as he parked his bike, he texted him.

 

\- Good morning sunshine :) It's chillier here in Scotland! I miss you and your warming up techniques. What are you up to?

 

\- Hello you :) well since I'm not there to warm you up, get covered up, please! I'm just having coffee and getting mentally ready for my meeting. I miss you too, beautiful.

 

\- I'm covered up, promise. You're already prepared, don't worry, I know you'll do it wonderfully!

 

\- Thank you babe, I'll let you know how things go. Have fun at the party, and send me drunk selfies!

 

\- Hahaha, I certainly will. Talk to you a bit later, I have to buy bread and cycle back home. Lots of kisses for you, handsome <3

 

\- Thank you gorgeous, same for you!

 

James smiled at how sweet Michael was, even texting, and walked into the bakery to get the bread.

 

The party was going very well, and he was really happy to see so many of his relatives, but mostly his sister, because they had always been very close and he missed her a lot now that he wasn't living in Scotland. They were sitting on a step of the stairs, chatting about how his semester was going, his classes, friends, and he knew he had to start talking about Michael very soon, but he waited until she finished saying something about her new boyfriend, to which he wanted to say he thought she was a little young to have a boyfriend, but then remembered his situation so he just told her he’d have to meet him soon to know if he approved, and she agreed with a laugh. "I'm dating someone too, actually" he said, trying to sound casual. "Really?" said Joy, with big eyes, "who is it? Why didn't you tell me before?" she said, punching him playfully in the arm. James laughed and told her their whole story, and how Michael was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him. Joy listened with the same big, blue eyes he had, staring at him and saying "aaaaww" at the right moments, or asking questions about him. He did edit the stories a little bit, leaving the sexy parts out, because it was his baby sister he was talking to and he wanted to keep a nice, clean image of himself as long as it was possible.

 

Joy was being lovely, as always, and after he told her about Michael, he felt like he had lost a big weight he didn't know he was carrying, and they talked about him telling their parents, probably the next day. After about an hour, he found himself talking to his drunken uncle about Uni and work and he was telling James how he had gotten the job he had at the moment, which wasn't the most interesting story but it was funny to talk to him in this state. He went to get another drink, and when he was back he had brought James a glass of scotch and soda, and James chuckled to himself, remembering that night at the bar, when Michael had bought him Holden Caulfield's favorite drink. –We're such nerds- he thought, rolling his eyes and laughing. He accepted the drink happily, took a selfie holding the cup and sent it to Michael, along with a text.

 

\- Drinking scotch and soda and thinking of you :) please let me know when you're done with the meeting?

 

After twenty minutes his phone started ringing, and he saw it was Michael calling him. His heart gave a small jump and he excused himself as he walked away from the noise as much as he could, answering his phone. "Hi baby! I miss you, how are you?" said James, smiling. "Well, hello gorgeous. I miss you too, so much! I'm great. Amazing, actually, and you?" said Michael on the other end, "I'm great, too, this has actually been very fun, I just wish you were here with me. Did you have your meeting already?" he said, walking through his house and going to his old bedroom, "I'm just leaving the publishing house, actually, that's why I didn't answer your text right away, I saw it and called… you look gorgeous, and I wish I was there drinking scotch with you, too" said Michael, lovingly. "Thank you, and yeah, I know, I wish you were here too. Tell me about the meeting, though, now!" said James, eagerly but chuckling. Michael laughed, "It went wonderful! They want me to work with them, either buying this book I'm working on or having a contract for several books with them, it would depend on what I choose, can you believe it?", he said happily.  
James threw himself on his old bed as he listened with wide eyes, and said "oh my God! Michael, sweetie that's amazing! Congratulations!" loudly and smiling widely, "thank you babe, I'm really happy! I'll have another meeting next week, I want to talk to you about it though, see what you think… I want your opinion on what would be best, but we'll talk when you come back", said Michael, and James' smile lingered and he closed his eyes, relishing on the sound of Michael's voice and his words, "I'd love to be able to help you decide, and I'll support whatever you choose. I'm so proud, Michael, really, I can't wait to be back home and celebrate with you" he said, and heard Michael chuckle, "well, I'm looking forward to that celebration too”. James rolled his eyes and blushed, realizing what type of celebration Michael was imagining, and well, he wouldn't complain.

 

“So the party's going fine?" he added after a tiny silence. "Yes, it's very fun. I missed Joy so much… we talked a long time and I told her about you, she's looking forward to meet you", said James, fumbling with the fabric of his pillow. "Really? That's exciting! I'd love to meet her too. And what about your parents?" asked Michael, "Well…we figured I'll tell them tomorrow. I'll let you know as soon as I talk to them, don't worry”, he answered.  
"Okay, don't rush into it if you don't feel like it, you can do it some other time, but yeah, let me know if you do”. Said Michael. " Yeah, that’s true. Thank you." Said James softly as he heard a loud noise from downstairs followed by laughter, and he chuckled, "I think I'll go downstairs again before someone dies of an alcoholic congestion, but if you want to call again later or want to text me I'll have my phone with me. Have fun tonight if you go out and be safe, okay?" said James, suddenly missing him too much, remembering he had mentioned something about seeing Hugh tonight. "Okay baby. I'll be safe, I promise, you have fun too… I miss you, James", said Michael with a sweet voice, and James closed his eyes again. "I miss you too… a lot. I'll see you tomorrow though. Goodbye, handsome" he said, biting his lip. “Goodbye babe!" said Michael sweetly, waiting for James to hang up, so James did after a second, smiling with a last "bye!"

 

James lingered on his bed for a few minutes, thinking about how different his life was now and how big and packed with things his old room was; how much stuff could someone have in their room anyway? He wandered around and saw some of his books that he didn't take to London, because he couldn't bring them all, and taking his copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a gorgeous vintage one, he remembered the shop where he had bought it and thought how much Michael would love it there. He immediately planned on going the next day to see if he could find something interesting for his boyfriend. He left his book on the shelf with a small smile and went downstairs to continue hanging out with his family.

 

Next morning, James woke up to the smell of coffee and the trademark smell of his mum’s Scottish breakfast, which he knew she was making for him since it was his favorite and she always did when he was back home for a few days, so he left his bed and went directly to the kitchen. His mum was busy cooking and he could see his dad doing something in the garden through the kitchen's glass door. He silently reached his mother from behind and scared her, and she jumped and gasped, then hit him with the spatula playfully as he laughed and then hugged her, placing his chin on her shoulder, "good morning mum" he said, feeling like a little kid again, and enjoying the warmth that only a mother can give. "Good morning sweetheart, I'm making your breakfast" she said, "I know, you're the best. Thank you" said James, and kissing her cheek, he served himself a cup of coffee and drank it black, to feel like a part of Michael was there with him, and smiled as he had his first drink.

 

His father got back in the house and sat on the table with James wishing him a good morning, and as his mother announced the breakfast was ready, James texted Joy to come downstairs. When she arrived they all chatted about the party, laughing and recollecting stories from different points of view. After a while, he realized he was being silly by worrying, his family was the best. They had been silent for a minute, eating their breakfast with content smiles because James was there and it had been a lovely weekend, really, so he took a deep breath before speaking. "Hey, guys, I want to talk to you about something", he said, suddenly feeling his face go pale. "What is it, James, is something worrying you?" said his dad, noticing James' change of mood. "Is everything alright at school, dear?" asked his mum, and he closed his eyes, "yes, everything's alright at school, it's not about that" he said, taking another sip of his coffee for confidence, "listen, I've been… I'm seeing someone" and he stayed quiet, just wishing they would know everything with that sentence, but they weren't telepathic, so his mum said "…Okay? Do you want to tell us about her?" with slightly squinted eyes. Mums always knew everything. "Yeah but, it's…. – he chuckled nervously-… it's not a her" he said, finally. He looked at his mum with what he hoped was a serious face, but he was nervous and his lips were threatening to grin, so he looked at Joy, who was staring at him and then at his parents with big eyes, and then he looked at his dad. They were all looking at him with a calm and slightly confused expression, like they were thinking what to say or assimilating it.

 

"Listen, I know it's not what you expected but I'm actually really happ-" he started saying, since they were all silent, but was interrupted by his dad. "You're dating a man?" he asked with a small frown, not an angry one though, which James found reassuring. "Y-yeah. Yes" said James, finding that one word too hard to say, looking at his fingers, "I'm sorry…" he added. "What?" he heard his mother say, and he looked up at her. She placed her hand on his, "what are you sorry for? James, you're our baby and we love you, I don't care who you choose to be with as long as they love you and you love them back" she said, and James could feel a bump in his throat; he apparently did worry about what his parents thought. He felt a tear fall down his cheek and heard his mother say "oh, sweetie", and hugging him tightly, she said, "I've known for years, James. Your father and I have talked about it and we're both okay with it". He chuckled and cried some more on his mum's shoulder, not knowing where all these tears came from, and looked up at his dad, who was looking at him. He smiled at James and took his hand, "come here, boy" he said, getting up from his seat and pulling James up, hugging him, "I'll always be proud of you, and I know you're smart, the smartest one of the family, so I trust in your decisions and respect all that you are. I love you" and he placed a kiss on James' head. James smiled and hugged his dad's big figure.

 

"This has got to be the world's most successful coming-out-to-your-parents story", said James sniveling and chuckling, as his father released his grip. They laughed and after a few more tender and reassuring words, along with a big hug from Joy, he told them everything about Michael, with his heart on his throat and holding his sister's hand. Both of their parents had seemed more reluctant to the fact that he was a teacher and 27 than him being a man; this made James laugh inwardly. He asked them kindly to not judge him until they met him, and told them how he was planning on quitting as soon as the semester was finished so they weren't doing something against the rules anymore, wishing this spoke better of him; after a silent minute, his father said he thought it was okay as long as this Michael lad was smart and quitting. His mother said she thought he was a little too old for him but if James liked him and he was a gentleman, then it was okay, too. They both said they wanted to meet him soon if it was going to be something serious. Joy asked to see a picture of him since she hadn't yesterday, and when James showed her, she made a big fuzz, "alright, mum, once you see him you'll understand" she said, and James laughed. "Oh, let me see!" she said, putting her glasses on and taking James' smartphone; she looked at the screen and raised her eyebrows, then looked at James with a mischievous smile causing him and Joy to laugh. His father got up his seat whispering "oh god" and looking for something in the fridge, apparently to not be a part of all the giggling, as James' mother whispered "he's gorgeous!" to him, then winked and placed a kiss on his son's cheek.

 

As soon as everyone was starting to get ready for the rest of the day, James took a quick shower and called Michael, telling him how it had gone, and how he was so happy that everything worked out so easily; Michael was very happy about it too. He told him he'd pick him up at King’s Cross that afternoon and then they'd celebrate everything that needed to be celebrated: his new job and James' liberation day, as he had said jokingly.  
He borrowed his father's car and went to that second hand bookshop he loved, getting there quickly and as soon as he got in, he felt intoxicated, in a good way, by the smell of the old books, a scent he loved. He greeted the owner, who remembered James, had a bit of small talk and then started wandering around the aisles, looking for something Michael would like. He wanted to give him a present because of his new job and also because Michael was always so sweet to him, and he thought a book would be a good idea since they were so meaningful in their relationship. He looked some more, and under a big, heavy book, hiding, there was a gorgeous hardcover copy of The Catcher in the Rye, which was perfect in so many ways. His eyes and smile widened at the treasure he had found and, without a second thought, he went to pay for it along with a tiny version of Atonement, which had got to have one tenth of the book in it but was very beautiful and well taken care of, so he bought it for himself as a treat.

 

Once home again, his time to leave was getting close, so he hung out with his family until they left him on the train station; he told them how thankful he was for them and how much he loved them, and said goodbye, his mum weeping and Joy and his dad waving and smiling at him as he waved back from the train's window.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explicit conteeentttt haha! have fun <3

“Do you like it?” James was looking at him apprehensively, biting his lip with a smile. “Oh, James”, Michael had been silent for a moment, staring at the gorgeous edition of the book on his lap surrounded by wrapping paper, a book he loved so much and had a meaning to their relationship, and now it meant a whole lot more. He ran his hand through the cover, feeling the textures of the engraved typography, caressing it with tenderness. “I love it” said Michael, turning his face up to James, smiling and a bit startled, “Thank you so much, it’s perfect” he added as he got closer to James and hugged him tightly with a loving sigh. “You’re perfect”, said James in a slightly muffled voice since his mouth was against Michael’s shoulder, “I’m glad you like it. It’s a beautiful edition, isn’t it?” Michael pulled away a bit from him just to have their faces front-to-front and, smiling, he said “it is”, nodding, “it really is” as he placed his hand on James’ cheek and pulled him closer to kiss him the way he had been wishing to kiss him all weekend, and now that James was finally back with him, he could.

 

They were sitting on Michael’s couch, and after making out for a bit, he pulled James on top of him causing him to gasp in surprise, so he was sitting on his lap with his knees on each side of Michael’s legs. “Mmm, I missed you” said James as he got his body as close as he could to Michael’s and caressing his hair, as Michael stroked his thighs and hips and looked at him lovingly, “I missed you too, baby” he said, and smiled charmingly at him; James chuckled and kissed the tip of his nose. “You didn’t have to bring me something”, added Michael, still caressing James’ thigh softly; he placed his palms over Michael’s cheeks, and he really loved it when James did this. “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. You’re always so sweet and amazing to me, and you’ve accomplished something great, so I wanted to give you a present, it’s all…let me pamper you!” he said, looking at Michael’s eyes and caressing his cheek, “and you’re so handsome you deserve a prize” he added, smiling teasingly. Michael chuckled and kissed one of James’ hands, “thank you sweetheart, I love it. Where did you find it?” he asked. 

 

“It’s from an old bookshop that sells all these amazing vintage copies, and the owner is an old man who knows and adores every book he sells, and knows all of his clients, too. I’ve been going there for years… I think you’d love it. When we go visit my parents I’ll take you there” said James, excited. Michael smiled and said, “I’d love that, it sounds like a wonderful place”. James smiled at him and after a moment he said, “would you like to meet my parents?” sheepishly looking at him, and then chuckled nervously, “I mean, they told me they wanted to meet you if our relationship’s serious”. Michael frowned almost imperceptibly, “of course it’s serious. And I’d love to meet them, we just have to set a date and I’ll drive you there myself” he said smiling, and James smiled back. “Also, I’d love to know where you grew up, you know? Your house, the places you went to, see pictures of you when you were a kid, stuff like that. And I want your parents to know how much I care about you” said Michael, and James nodded lovingly, startled by all the feelings he had for this man, “And I want them to know me so they know I’m not a perv” he added, chuckling. James laughed and after kissing his chin he said, “You’re only 9 years older, it’s not that much, really. And if someone’s a perv in this relationship, it’s gotta be me”, he said with a low voice and licked his jaw provocatively. 

 

Michael chuckled and moaned softly at the feeling, “you think that just because I’ve controlled myself so far”, he said, half-jokingly. James looked at him with darkened eyes and said, “Then don’t”, rubbing himself up softly against Michel, teasing him, still looking at him in the eye. Michael swallowed thickly and felt how all his blood travelled downwards, bucking his hips up and pulling James for a kiss, which was deliciously slow. They both moaned against each other’s mouth and after a few minutes of hard kissing, grunting and stroking, Michael said “Do you want to go to my room?” with a husky voice, thinking the couch wasn’t as comfortable as his bed; James nodded, recovering his breath, and Michael stood up, carrying him. James laughed and took a tighter hold of Michael’s neck and waist, and kissed and licked his neck along the way, enjoying the sexiness of Michael carrying him like that to bed, the muscles of his arms and shoulders tightening, and his erection against him.

 

He threw themselves both on the bed, taking care of not crushing James’ body when he fell on top of him, and caged him with his arms and legs, licking James’ neck all the way up to his ear and pulled at his lobe, reaching for his own shirt and started pulling it up. James moaned and stared at Michael as he took his shirt off and, after gawking at him for a few seconds, he reached for his own shirt and started unbuttoning it deliberately slowly, enjoying Michael’s lustful stare. When James reached the last button, Michael helped him to remove it and caressed his skin along the way, “have I told you I adore the freckles on your shoulders?” he said, reaching to kiss and bite James’ shoulder, “yes, but I like to hear it anyway” said James, stroking Michael’s sides, “well – said Michael lowly - I adore the freckles on your shoulders, and on your chest – he kissed lower at James’ chest- and your stomach –then kissed James’ stomach – and everywhere else” he said, looking up at James, with a sexy smirk and his lips dangerously close to the hem of James’ trousers. He started undoing them, and James was staring, panting, and once his trousers and underwear were off, along with his shoes and socks, Michael took James’ foot and kissed the side of it, then his calf, his inner thigh and finally stopped at James’ erection, reaching for his own trousers and undoing them, removing them in a quick movement and taking his shoes and socks off with his feet, not having to move lower, staying where he was. James placed his hand on Michael’s head and caressed his hair and his cheek, and Michael smiled up at him before licking him all the way to his tip and then did it again, causing James to shudder and moan Michael’s name. Michael didn’t stay there though, he kept coming up again, kissing his stomach and chest, and taking James’ penis with his hand, stroking it, James feeling too aroused with all the sensations.

 

“Ah, Michael, please baby… I need you”, said James desperately as Michael slowly jerked him off and sucked and licked at his right nipple, “I’m right here babe, you have me” said Michael, hotly against his skin. “No” said James, pulling Michael up to kiss his mouth, “I need you inside of me” he whispered at his lips, “please”, he added with a sigh, closing his eyes. Michael stopped what he was doing and just looked at him, at how incredibly beautiful he was, how vulnerable and sweet and fucking sexy this man looked, asking him, Michael, to make love to him. My, what did he ever do to deserve this? He nodded, feeling more aroused than he had ever felt before, “Yes, gorgeous” he said, kissing James’ red lips softly. They had done a lot of things by now, but they hadn’t had sex yet, since Michael had told James he would wait for him until he was ready, and it was finally happening. “I adore you, you know?” said Michael. James nodded and said, “I know, and so do I”, Michael whispered “good” with a sweet smile and began stroking James’ sides, enjoying the feeling of his soft skin, running his hand down to his right hip and then his inner thigh, squeezing it and pushing it to the side to spread him up.

 

“Ah, yes” whispered James hotly. “Spread up for me, baby”, said Michael at James’ neck between kisses, knowing by now how much James enjoyed the dirty talking, as he did too, causing James to moan loudly and heard a whispered “yes” from his mouth. “Fuck… wait, I’ll be right back” he said, giving a kiss to James’ nose and rushing to his bathroom to get what he needed. James lured at Michael’s strong, hot body as he walked away and came back with a small bottle. His stomach made a flip and felt his body almost burst into flames at the expectation. “Please, come here” he said softly as Michael was getting on the bed, and he hurried to get on top of James, kissing him “I’m here”, he said tenderly, taking both of James’ knees and sending them upwards and to his sides, placing himself between them. James moaned and closed his eyes at being spread up by Michael, because what else could somebody aim for, really? And Michael began kissing him sinfully slow, so sensual; he could hear the sound of a bottle opening and closing briefly, and felt Michael shifting his position slightly. He groaned loudly at the feeling of Michael’s fingers inside of him, entering slowly, “are you okay?” said Michael, clearly aroused. “Yes” said James with his eyes closed, getting used to the feeling. “Yes… ah, yes” he said, as he felt Michael move his fingers once they were in; “mmm, Michael... more” he moaned after a few moments and he pushed against his hand; he wanted more, bigger, now. 

 

“Ah, fuck James”, said Michael; “Yes, please”, said James quickly at Michael’s expression. Michael laughed softly at the pun and James smiled, sweaty and wonderful. “Yeah? You want that?” he asked teasingly as he bit and licked James’ lower lip. James moaned a “yes” and Michael’s fingers reached deeper inside of James, as he kissed his shoulder; “say it, baby”, he said, looking at James’ eyes; James moaned, and after a moment, he said “I want you to fuck me, Michael”, panting, staring at him with the sexiest look that Michael had ever seen, and felt his dick twitch at the sight and sound of James saying these words; he growled, taking the bottle of lube and spreading some on himself. James held his hands behind Michael’s neck, and spread his legs wider if possible, closing his eyes as Michael took his fingers out and replaced them with the tip of his penis; Michael moaned deeply instantly, and placed one of his hands on James’ hip, to guide them both, using his other arm for support beside James’ head; James still had his both hands clasped behind Michael’s neck, and was breathing heavily. 

 

Michael bit James’ lower lip, “I’ll go slow”, he said, panting, needing to concentrate to speak, and continued filling him up, as slow as he could. “Fuck” moaned James, “you’re so big”, he said with a gasp and his voice full of lust. Michael moaned at this, cause it was too hot; he chuckled and said “do you like it big though?” in a husky voice, of course he knew the answer, but his ego wanted to hear it, sue him. “Fuck yes” said James, fervently. “Good” said Michael, “you’re so tight… and fuck, I love it, too”, as he kissed James right between his neck and ear, and James moaned again. He reached all the way inside him, finally, “I’ll move once you’ve adjusted” he said, sweating already and with an enormous amount of self restraint he never imagined he had in him. 

 

“Mhm, okay” said James breathing sharply, as he adjusted to the size and the slight pain, although it was a good kind of pain, definitely. After a minute of serious kissing and moaning, his own body started rocking against Michael, his hips thrusting downwards to get some friction. They both moaned into each other’s mouth and Michael thrust into him, slow and sensual. James whimpered loudly at this, it was too good; he pushed his head backwards and grabbed Michael’s shoulders, moaning his name.  
Michael was in another place completely, his body and heart throbbing and filled with lust and expectation and Love. He stopped for a second as he realized this, how he’d never, ever felt this way with someone before, and he understood the meaning of making love, how everything he could ever wish to express to this beautiful man, he could say it with his body and soul, because all the words he knew, all the poems, all the stories… they would never be enough to show him, it was too much, he felt too much. “I love you”, he said, simply as it escaped from his mouth, trying to focus his eyes to look at James’ beautiful ones, as he kept rocking his hips slowly, filled with sensations. 

 

James’ eyes widened and looked back at Michael, opening his mouth a bit as if to moan and talk at the same time, and reached for Michael’s lips to kiss him fully, “I love you too”, he said against his mouth, passionately, “so unbelievably much” he added. Michael smiled lovingly, and so did James, and they kissed as they had never kissed before, their lips tingling and salty, their tongues searching for new places, old places, relishing on new words, everything almost messy and too wet, but it was perfect; After a few minutes, Michael began thrusting faster, more enthusiastically, now that James was definitely accustomed to the feeling. He then arranged his position slightly so he could aim for James’ sweet spot, and after a few thrusts he knew he’d hit it, because James shouted and shuddered deliciously under him, then moaned some very colourful words with squeezed shut eyes and red cheeks, as Michael repeated this, thrilled with James’ reactions and his own sensations. 

 

“Fuck!” shouted James, almost desperately, with a frown “Mich… ah, yes, right there baby”, and all the hotness of James’ skin under him, and his words, and his hands on Michael’s ass, and his… well, his insides around Michael, it was too much. “Mmm, right there?” he mumbled, thrusting slightly harder, talking into James’ mouth, “ah, yes… fuck me Michael” said James, panting, repeating it between kisses and his hands now raking through Michael’s back and then his hair, and that was it, it was all he needed in so many ways, so Michael began to feel the burning in his belly, and with a hard, slow thrust he said into James’ neck, “I’m… ah, please come with me James”, and heard James moan, searching for Michael’s face and nodded a silent “yes”, so with a few more intense thrusts, they both moaned deeply in unison, tensing their bodies through their orgasms. 

 

It wasn’t the first time that Michael saw James have an orgasm, but this time it had been different since it had been their first time having actual sex, and he thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, heard, and felt. They gave it a minute to recover and Michael pecked James’ face, neck and shoulders as he pulled out from James carefully, since he knew it was a weird feeling, and James bit his own lip and grabbed Michael’s back tight, frowning. “There” whispered Michael, once he was out, kissing him softly, and James kissed him back, tired and gorgeous, caressing his hair, and sighing, he said “Michael, babe…wow, you’re too much, too incredible. I love you” looking at him with those blue eyes Michael could eternally write about, and smiled softly at him. Michael kissed him, “I love you too, baby… you’re everything I have ever wished for, I didn’t know what making love was before tonight” he said, and James could feel a small knot in his throat. He smiled at Michael, and he smiled back, not needing to say anything else, because they could see in each other’s eyes how this night had changed them forever.

 

After a while, they didn’t know if it was minutes or hours, Michael looked at the clock on his nightstand and said “Will you stay?” now both of them on their sides, Michael caressing James’ hip with his fingertips as James caressed his cheek. James smiled and after a moment he said, “of course. Forever”. Michael chuckled and looked at him lovingly, and with a silent “good” he kissed James’ mouth and pulled him closer, both of them falling asleep almost instantly.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

James woke up and felt disorientated for a second, not recognizing his surroundings, but then felt Michael’s breath against his neck and the tightish grip around his waist and remembered where he was. He smiled at this, and went back to sleep. When he woke up again, it was 8:00 am and he remembered it was Monday, so he grabbed his phone quickly as he noticed Michael wasn’t in bed, and saw he had a message from Evan asking him if he was staying at Michael’s, so it was from last night, and sent him one saying he had slept there and had just woken up, so he wasn’t going to class at least until 10:00. He’d arrive to school with his boyfriend/ teacher, apparently. Evan answered back telling him to not come to school and have fun. James chuckled and left the bed, wondering where Michael was, and put on his boxers and Michael’s jumper. He could smell something delicious and his stomach grumbled at it; he walked to the kitchen and saw Michael cooking something, wearing nothing but his tight black boxer briefs, and smirked at how good looking he was, feeling a movement in his tummy that wasn’t related to food at all. He approached him silently and hugged him from behind, making Michael gasp in surprise and then snigger, “good morning” said James, placing his cheek between Michael’s shoulder blades. “Good morning, beautiful” said Michael, taking James’ hand and kissing it, then turning his torso and neck to kiss James’ lips, “how did you sleep?” he asked. James smiled and said “amazing, and you?” Michael continued cooking, “like a log” he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up for class… I called in sick so I’m not going, I don’t know about you” he added, and smirked looking at his pan. James laughed and said “Really? Well, I don’t know. I have literature class at 10:00 with a gorgeous teacher, so I might go, but don’t worry about me, I can take the bus or something”, and smiled teasingly at Michael’s back. Michael laughed and turned his face again and squinted playfully at him. James winked and whispered “but I’d rather stay here” and bit Michael’s shoulder, going on his tiptoes. Michael winked back at him with a small smile, being too seductive for his own good, James thought, as he stared at his handsome boyfriend. 

 

Michael turned around to cook again, and James stayed at his spot on Michael’s back, holding him with one arm and caressing his waist with the other, relishing and admiring his body. He lowered his hand and squeezed Michael’s butt, causing him to chuckle and curve his back slightly. He cupped one butt-cheek with his hand and stroked it, getting slightly aroused already, and said “I don’t know if I say this enough, but you have the best butt I have ever seen”. Michael laughed and said, “you actually have never said that before. Thank you babe, but I beg to differ, yours is the 8th wonder. In and out”. James laughed, blushing, and slapped his arm playfully “shut up!”, Michael laughed too and turned around, “sorry, but it is the truth”, he said, and James bit his lip, smiling widely as he scanned Michael’s handsome features. Michael lowered his head to kiss James fully, and announced breakfast was ready. He served them both as James served the coffee, and as he took the milk out of the fridge, he saw the note he had attached to the book last night held on the door of the fridge with a magnet.

 

I found the perfect man, and then I found the perfect book for him.  
That’s what I call good luck.  
With love,  
James  
He smiled because Michael had put it there, and because he really was the perfect man, at least for him, and as he approached the table, he kissed Michael’s temple, “I love you, handsome”, he said. Michael smiled and before kissing him softly on the lips, he said, “I love you too, always”.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me ages, but I'm back!
> 
> Very explicit content in this chapter, btw.  
>  I'm sorry, haha.

“James, there’s no milk for your coffee!” shouted Michael from his kitchen as he opened the door of the fridge, remembering he had thought about going to buy it yesterday but then forgot about it completely. “That’s alright, I’ll have it black!” shouted James back from the living room.

“No, I’ll go buy it, I’ll be back in five minutes” said Michael as he peeked his head out of the kitchen to look at James and make sure he had heard him. James laughed, “no you’re not, it’s pouring outside, and I want you here with me. Besides, I like black coffee too”. 

Michael looked at the window to check how hard the rain was, unnecessarily, since the sound of it was enough to know that the sky was falling down. “But you prefer it with milk…” said Michael with a pout, and James smiled sweetly at how disarmed he felt with that gesture on Michael’s face, “that’s alright sweetheart, I really don’t mind at all about the milk, but thank you for caring about it” he said, wanting him back in his arms already, fuck the coffee. 

Michael seemed to think about it for a couple of seconds before he answered, “well, ok. You don’t have to thank me about caring though. You still want sugar?” he asked, taking both of the mugs with one hand and preparing a spoon with the other, “yes, please”, said James a little quietly from his cocoon of blankets. Michael nodded with a little smile and added a couple of sugars to James’ cup and hurried to his place on the couch.

 

James had been laying down but sat with his legs across the couch to take his cup from Michael’s hand, “thank you baby” he said with a sweet voice, “come’ere” and lifted the blanket and spread his legs for Michael to settle there. Michael looked at him and smiled at the obliviousness of James’ action and how it had made the bottom of his stomach jump to see him spread like that; he sat right between those beloved legs, with his back resting on James’ chest, who covered them both up with the thick blanket, lowering his head and placing a kiss on Michael’s neck and then having a drink of his coffee. 

Michael drank some of his coffee too, and savored the deliciousness of the moment; of his boyfriend’s soft kisses on his shoulder and the way he caressed his arm, the rich taste of his coffee, the sound of the rain outside. He loved everything about this.

 

Michael was wearing a t-shirt, so James could see and feel his skin and the muscles on his arms, and it made him feel a little more heated, in unison with the slight weight of Michael’s upper body resting on him. He slowly caressed one of the thick veins that traveled from his hand all the way up through his arm, causing Michael to shiver a bit. 

James sniggered and squeezed his bicep tightly, enjoying the strong curve, and biting his earlobe he whispered at his ear, “you’re so fuckin’ sexy, it’s unfair”. Michael smiled brightly and caressed James’ thigh, sending his head backwards to kiss him. James ran his hand along Michael’s abs under his shirt, making him shiver again. “Thank you baby, so are you”, he said with what he hoped was a sexy look, enjoying the sensation of James’ fingertips on him, and the slight bulge he felt forming against his lower back and down his own pants. 

James smirked sexily, “I like you so much. And I’m not talking about your mind and soul and those insignificant things, I mean your body”, he said jokingly with a little wink, and Michael laughed and slapped his leg playfully. James laughed too, “seriously though, you’re like a Greek god – he stroked his arms and stomach again – so manly and hot”, he said with a thick accent, and Michael felt a shiver run down his spine, and biting his lip he said “thank you, sexy” with a husky voice, caressing James’ knee with the hand that wasn’t holding the coffee.

 

Gawking at Michael’s figure, he suddenly remembered how much it resembled to the bodies of the men he used to picture in his dreams as an exploring teenager, and the time he discovered he found men’s bodies attractive instead of women’s came to his mind, and laughed quietly. “You literally have the body of my dreams – he kissed his neck tenderly - Hey, can I ask you something?” said James, “of course” said Michael with a soft voice after smiling at James’ comment about his body. 

“When did you know you liked men?” he asked; Michael gave it a thought for a moment, “Well, honestly, I knew something different was going on with me when every single boy at my school had a crush with the Spice Girls and I couldn’t understand why” said Michael and James burst out laughing, “Oh my God, you’re so cute, I can totally picture you as a kid in that situation” he said, his laugh lingering and taking Michael’s hand to kiss it, then rubbed his cheek against Michael’s, already used to the feeling of both their stubbles scraping slightly against each other.

“The Spice Girls… God, that was 20 years ago. For some reason I like the 90’s and early 00’s though, even if I was a very small baby at the time”. He said, and Michael made an endearment face at the thought of James as a baby and how adorable he must have been, and wished he could hold him in his arms like that, even if it was a weird thing to wish. He briefly imagined James’ babies, how beautiful they’d be, how they’d have big blue eyes and tiny freckles; God, he’d love them. 

He tried to ignore the small wound in his heart as he thought about the implications with children and them being a gay couple, and instead turned his head to give James a soft kiss, too aware of the warmth of his cherry lips and how they smiled lovingly against his own at the unexpected gesture, the taste of coffee lingering, the heat of James cheeks, the eternal cold tip of his nose. He wanted to embrace all that James was, his fears, dreams, spirit, and keep this moment held in time, right there, with sweet lips speaking tender words and casually tangled legs.

A loud thunder was heard and James gasped against Michael’s mouth and then chuckled, and both of them turned to look at the window. It was a beautiful day even if it was raining so much; the clouds were thick and contrasted, and the city lights in the dark afternoon looked wonderful with their different colors and sizes up from Michael’s floor. “I love your flat, it has such an amazing view of the city” said James pensively, still looking at the window. 

Michael looked at James’ features as he looked away, and felt his heart almost ache of how stunning he was; “then stay” he said, not noticing when he had said it, but knowing he wanted it. James turned his head quickly and squinted at him with a slight frown and the hint of a smile, “what do you mean? Tonight? ... Sure” he said, with his heart racing a bit more quickly. “You know what I mean, but don’t say anything right now, just think about it okay?” said Michael with a small smile. 

James smiled devotedly at him, with an answer already, but just nodded and kissed his forehead. Michael closed his eyes to savor the loving gesture and thought about his half-said proposition and felt his stomach turn in a wonderful way. He opened his eyes and looked at the window, he was still turning around in a kind of awkward position but didn’t want to turn away from James, who was caressing his cheek. 

The rain outside made him think of something and he chuckled, “I just thought of our first date, how you made me walk in the rain” he said, smiling up at James, who laughed, “I know, I thought about it too, earlier. God, I was so nervous during that walk”, he said; Michael raised his eyebrows, “you were?” he asked, “yeah, I mean, I was having a wonderful time, but I was nervous and kind of wishing that you kissed me under the rain, it’s always been some kind of fantasy of mine” he said, chuckling. 

Michael smiled at him, remembering how much he wanted it too at the moment, “I had to think of sandwiches to try and ignore how beautiful and sexy you looked” he confessed with a laugh, and James burst out laughing, “I love you” he said with an adoring gaze. “I love you too. And I can kiss you under the rain now, you know?” said Michael, turning his body completely now and caging James with his arms and legs in a swift movement. James chuckled nervously, caught between lust and surprise, because Michael’s predator look was always a bit intimidating, sexy as it gets, but intimidating. 

“You can?” he asked teasingly, his breath catching, and Michael nodded, kissing him quickly but dizzyingly hot, and with another skillful movement, he got up from the couch pulling James up with him, the blanket falling to their feet. He took his hand and guided them both to the door of his flat, “you’re serious? We’re going outside?” said James, excited, and Michael turned to look at him, “yup, let’s go put a checkmark on that bucket list of yours… and when we come back you can help me put a checkmark on mine” he said, lifting an eyebrow with a suggestive smirk. 

James literally giggled at this and nodded, biting his lip, wondering what Michael had in mind, but he was eagerly accepting it already without a second thought. Michael winked at him and they walked to the small elevator, taking advantage of the half minute it took them to get downstairs by kissing eagerly, already excited about their little adventure.

 

The guard of the building gave them a confused look and then chuckled merrily as he saw them walk out the door and getting almost instantly soaked, bursting out laughing. “I didn’t even realize I wasn’t wearing my shoes until right now!” said James, and Michael laughed, looking at their naked feet, “me neither” he said with that big smile that James absolutely adored. They just stood on the sidewalk for a moment, both enjoying the sensation of the cold rain on their skin.

James opened his arms and lifted his head, closing his eyes with a pleased smile on his face, looking so innocent and beautiful that Michael had to just stop and stare for a minute. He approached James and took his hand, which made him open his eyes and look at Michael, who was pulling softly at him and gave a step, so they would be close together; he ran his hands all the way up to James’ shoulders, always looking at him in the eye, wanting to make this an unforgettable experience because it was important to James, so it was important to him as well. 

Also everything about this situation felt really sexy, and James looked gorgeous under the rain. Once his hands were on James’ shoulders, he could see his eyes widen slightly and his breath quicken in expectation; Michael reached his hands up for James’ hair determinedly, strong, the way he knew made James quaver, and raking them with a tight hold, he kissed him, James responding enthusiastically in a second, moaning into his mouth in release and fisting Michael’s t-shirt.

After a couple of minutes of intense and explorative making out, James pulled apart, pushing his head backwards to breathe, feeling the rain on his face and instantly ducking his head to stop it to fall directly into his eyes and mouth. He smiled at their feet and then looked up at Michael, who was staring at him trying to decipher his expressions. James brightened his smile at him, and felt the awareness of the wet shirt under his hands and his cold toes.

Michael smiled back, his hands on James’ lower back, drawing small circles with his thumb, wanting to touch more, to bite, to lick. “Was that okay, or do you want me to kiss you again, just in case?” he asked teasingly near James’ mouth, knowing it had been a fucking delicious kiss, but still, another kiss wouldn’t hurt anyone. James laughed, “It was perfect, more than I have ever dreamed of, but we can give it another try, you know? As you say, just in case” he said pushing his body upfront to rest his chest on Michael’s chest and lifting his head up to look at him, circling his neck with his arms. 

Michael chuckled and pulled him closer, kissing him again, this time slower and deep, and felt James shiver, “are you cold?” he asked, suddenly aware of his own cold body. “Yes, I mean that’s not the only reason why I shivered, but this rain is fucking freezing” he said chuckling and curling his toes. Michael agreed and said “well, let’s go inside and I’ll get you warm” with a little smile, holding James’ hand. James bit his lip and nodded, and they both started running towards the building, both laughing again when they got in.

 

“Wait here” said Michael when they reached the living room in their soaking wet clothes, and James nodded, shivering. He ran to his bathroom and turned the water on as hot as it got, and came back to the living room to get James, “do you want something hot to drink?” he asked, taking his hands and trying to heat them with his breath. James shook his head, and with a serious glance he reached for Michael’s hair with his hands and said “I just want you” before kissing him eagerly, since he heard Michael had turned the water on and, fuck, showering with him was one of the sexiest things he could imagine to do. 

Michael groaned and took James’ hips, pulling him closer and rubbing against him, causing him to moan. They started walking carefully towards his room, kissing passionately, James walking backwards; they reached the bathroom and felt embraced by the warm steam, and James sighed hotly against Michael’s chin, grasping his shirt. Michael took James’ shirt and lifted it up, removing it quickly and running his hands along his chest, stomach and back, grunting at the sight; he kissed and lick his shoulder and neck as he started undoing James’ trousers, and James was grasping Michael’s shoulders tightly, enjoying getting naked by him and the feeling of his warm tongue against his cold skin. 

He pulled at Michael’s shirt and removed it quickly as well, licking his lips while looking at his strong chest, reaching to kiss his nipple while undoing his trousers, and Michael shimmied his legs to help take them off faster. He opened the glass door of the shower and pulled James near him, and their cocks bumped against each other as they got inside, both moaning at the feeling of it and of the hot water falling on them. They kissed again, like they had kissed under the rain, except now without restrictions; Michael moved his hands from James’ hips to his bum, and squeezing tightly he pressed both their pelvises together, rolling his own hips up to rub against James’ dick, and they both moaned into each other’s mouth.

 

“So, was this in your bucket list baby?” asked James between kisses and moans, and Michael nodded without interrupting a fierce lick he was giving to James’ jawline, “yes, I’ve been dreaming of this for a long time” said Michael to his ear, still rubbing slowly against James, who smiled sexily, “I’ve dreamt about it too, it’s so delicious” he said, and after a quiet moment, he asked “did you… ah, yes – Michael bit his shoulder roughly -…. did you ever jerk off thinking of me when I was just your student?”, genuinely curious but mostly just encouraged by the situation. 

Michael laughed softly and bit James’ lower lip, pulling at it, “yes”, he said, looking at him in the eye with a hungry look and raising an eyebrow. James already knew this, or at least imagined it, because they had already talked about how much they had liked each other since day one, and he had definitely had sexy times by himself thinking of Mr. Fassbender before even the first book was borrowed, but Michael admitting it almost cynically like that, it was freaking hot. 

“Fuck”, sighed James lowly, closing his eyes “that’s so sexy... what did you think about when you did?” he asked, his cheeks warming up. Michael smirked, “it was more than once, and I thought of a lot of things – he said huskily – this was one” and he pushed him carefully against the wall, where the water hit them both but it mostly hit his back; James gasped and closed his eyes, “I dreamed of having you here” he said, taking James’ hand in his own and lifting it up against the wall, “and then I did this”, he took James’ cock in his other hand and pumped it slowly and hard a couple of times, causing James to whimper and send his head slightly backwards, his mouth open, so Michael kissed him in an almost filthy way, because there wasn’t other way to do it at that moment, really. 

James moaned loudly at the intrusion of Michael’s tongue and the steady rhythm of his hand, and after a moment he said, “ah, baby, and what did I do?” with a raspy voice and dark eyes. Michael sighed and swallowed thickly, too aroused “you begged me to fuck you”, he said, breathing heavily against James’ jaw and closing his eyes. James grunted at how sexy Michael sounded saying that… they both definitely had the same kind of wet dreams then; “Fuck… ah, fuck me Michael, please baby” he said in a voice that made Michael briefly wonder if James had ever been trained as a porn star. 

He frowned and moaned with an open mouth and lifted James from the ground, sliding him up the wet wall; James gasped and took a hold of Michael’s neck, resting his forearms on his shoulders and felt his lower stomach make a twist as he surrounded the other man’s waist with his legs; Michael lowered him back just a bit to position the tip of his cock over James’ entrance, and started lowering him down all the way through it, agonizingly slow, not wanting to hurt him; he moaned at the feeling and at the sexiness of it all, since it was definitely one of his top fantasies, to have James like this, in the shower and up against the wall. 

James was breathing heavily, his beautiful red mouth open with a slight frown as Michael started pushing in; he moaned and cursed as Michael carried and licked and fucked him under the hot water. He opened his eyes to look at him once he was all inside, and felt dizzy with pleasure and lust, savoring how thick Michael felt, how his shoulders and the muscles of his arms looked all bulked up as he was carrying him, the sensation of his big hands grasping his butt tightly to lift him up, the lustful look on his face, the amazingly erotic sounds he was making and how the water looked falling on that glorious body and features, it was all the perfect fantasy, the sexiest he had ever seen and felt in his life.

 

He waited a few seconds to adjust and knew Michael was waiting for him too, so he pushed himself up slightly, with his forearms supporting his weight on Michael’s shoulders, feeling the other man’s cock sliding out a bit as he reached up, and then in, as he let his body fall into it, shouting in pleasure and his own cock twitching at the sound of Michael groaning and cursing loudly; he did it again and let his body fall harder this time, his boyfriend’s dick deep into him, “Fuck, yes baby, use my cock, fuck me” said Michael, panting, and James moaned at the words and the sensations, then did it again, this time with Michael helping him to move up and down. 

They kissed wetly, hungrily, and after a while James pressed his heels against Michael’s lower back for support, getting a bit tired from the position even if he was enjoying it so badly. Michael moaned James’ name when he did this and thrust harder, apparently liking the sensation of James’ feet at his back, “ah, James, you’re fucking mouthwatering”, he said, looking at James’ abandoned expression, who smiled and gasped at the same time, saying “you are” softly, and after biting Michel’s lower lip, he said “baby, I… aaah, I want you behind me…” shifting the position of his arms slightly to release the tension off them.

Michael grunted with disbelief, this man couldn’t be real; no one could be so sexy. “You do?” he asked hotly, not able to talk more than that, “yes, yes – James started thrusting his hips, panting harder and licking Michael’s lips between words, getting so much hotter just by asking that from him – yes baby, I want you to do me like that, is it okay?” Michael felt like almost coming right there because of the way James was talking and moving and licking at him, “oh fuck, yes” he said, lifting James all the way up to slide out from him and placed him down on the floor again, kissing him dirty and full of love and adoration, and turned him around carefully.

 

James was panting, his cheeks were red, and he instantly pressed his hands and cheek against the wall, his back curved as he raised his ass involuntarily. Michael waited a moment to catch his breath and just look at James, how he was giving himself to Michael so trustingly, so lovingly; he ran a hand along his back, stopping at his ass, sighing heavily at the sexiness of James’ curvy backside, “you have such a beautiful body”, he said, and James smiled and panted, expectant, “thank you, you have the best one” said James, turning his head slightly to look at him. 

Michael ran his thumb through James’ cleft and separated his butt cheeks, searching for his entrance again as he kissed his neck, finding it and placing his cock. It was easy, since James was already stretched out, so he got all the way in with a single deep thrust, and they both moaned loudly, Michael biting his neck and placing his left hand and arm on top of James’ ones, which were placed on the wall in a 90 degree angle; he entwined their fingers and thrust again, his other hand on James’ hip. 

“I love you James, so much” he said, and James threw his head backwards, resting it on his boyfriend’s shoulder, “I love you too Michael” he said, his eyes closed and hardening his grip at Michael’s hand. Michael continued to kiss his shoulder, enjoying the taste of his skin combined with the water falling on them, and thrust his hips in a steady rhythm for a while, knowing they wouldn’t last too much longer; James bucked his hips backwards, faster now, eager to get more of that delicious sensation with each thrust, and moaned each time, driving Michael crazy. 

“Ah, Michael baby, fuck me, yes, give it to me,” he panted and kept repeating some of those words, causing Michael to thrust harder, “aah, yeah baby? You want cock?” he said at James’ ear, biting it, feeling so fucking dirty but not really caring at all, “aah…yes, give me some of your big, juicy cock” he moaned hotly; Michael moaned from his throat hardly, “ah James, you’re so sexy, so fuckable baby” thrusting harder, feeling a second away from the edge “yeah?” moaned James, close to finishing, too, “yes, ah, yes” moaned Michael loudly with a couple of hard thrusts, frowning, looking at James’ ass bumping with his pelvis, and as he watched his dick come in and out of him, he started moaning in a steady rhythm, starting to come, and James followed his moans, “that’s it baby, yes”, said Michael at James’ moans, giving a last thrust, moaning loudly and biting and kissing his shoulder, feeling the insides of James clutch at him as he came, shouting loudly.

 

They panted and tried to adjust their breathing for a couple of minutes, Michael carefully pulling out from James and kissing his neck and shoulders as he did. “Was that okay, or do you want me to do it again, just in case?” said James tiredly and with a teasing smile, and Michael laughed, “it was perfect. If we try it again we might die though, so we can try later, hm?” he said into his ear. James chuckled and turned around, resting his whole body on the wall, closing his eyes and smiling contently, then opened them with a sleepy look and smiled brightly at Michael, who smiled back at him. 

“That was too hot” said James, running his hands through Michael’s softening cock and then along his stomach, chest and up to his face. Michael nodded tiredly and kissed James hand, then hugged James “yes, it was amazing, the best sex I’ve ever had” he said, and James blushed. Of course it was the best sex HE’D ever had, but Michael, too? That was something. “I love you, gorgeous” said Michael, and took the soap bar to start cleaning James’ body softly, which caused James to smile lovingly. “I love you too” he said, and sighed, feeling like nothing could ever go wrong if he had Michael by his side, giving him coffee or making love to him, “and it was the best sex I’ve ever had too, obviously. You’re so hot, I’m sorry I get so dirty, I can’t help it. I blame it on my Scottishness”, he said chuckling, feeling a little embarrassed, “did I say your cock was juicy?” he added, blushing, and Michael laughed, “you did, and it was fucking hot, don’t you dare apologizing” he said close to his mouth, smiling. 

They continued washing each other’s bodies in silence, moaning softly from time to time at the feeling of the soft hands or water or shampoo, and being pampered by the person they loved the most. “Hey” said Michael suddenly, but softly, washing James’ hair, “yes?” said James, “I meant what I said earlier, about you staying here. I’d love it if you lived with me”, said Michael nervously. James smiled, “I know you meant it - he kissed him sweetly- and I’d love it if I lived with you, too” he said, looking at Michael with a sparkle in his eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

“That’s a great shirt”, said Michael, smirking as he glanced at James. “Thanks, it’s my boyfriend’s”, answered James, smiling proudly at him and pulling the hem of Michael’s Led Zeppelin shirt. Michael chuckled, and looking him up and down said, “you look so sexy in it, if it wasn’t one of my favorites I’d rip it off of you” close enough for James to feel his warm breath. 

James laughed, “Mr. Fassbender! Is that the right way to talk to your student?” he said, running his fingertips along Michael’s arm teasingly; Michael chuckled and took James’ hand in his own, “sorry - he kissed his index finger slowly, looking at him – you’ve been such a good student Mr. McAvoy, I thought you deserved some kind of reward” and winked at him. James stared with a small smile and swallowed thickly, “wow, okay, we’re definitely trying that later at home” he said, feeling dangerously hot at the thought of the teacher-student roleplaying thing going on. “Kinky” said Michael with a small laugh and a sexy look in his eyes. “We’re gonna have to wait ‘till we’re back in London though, I’m not having sex at your parents’ house, I don’t care what you have to say”, he added, trying to sound serious. 

James laughed, “of course you care what I have to say” he said biting his lip with a playful smile, and Michael rolled his eyes half-heartedly, “of course I do, you tease”, and kissed James’ forehead lovingly, “let’s go babe, we still have a couple of hours of driving and it’s getting dark” he added, taking a slurp from his chocolate milk box; James nodded and they walked together towards the car, walking out of the small convenience store they had found in the road.

They had decided they’d move in together after the Christmas holidays, since they wouldn’t be teacher and student anymore and they’d have more time for moving James’ things to Michael’s flat, and that was just three weeks away. They wanted to tell James’ parents these news about moving in together before they actually did, and they hadn’t even met Michael yet, so it had to happen now. They left for the weekend to Scotland, and as Michael had promised, he drove James to his parents’ house, because they thought it’d be fun and it was only one hour longer by car than by train. They were happy and excited, but also a little scared about Michael meeting James’ parents, even if James had assured him a thousand times they’d love him.

“Right here” said James, pointing at a house on the corner of the street, with wide windows, a big tree and lots of different colored and sized flowerpots near the front door; it was a regular and lovely looking house. Michael nodded a bit nervously and parked the car right outside the house as James sent a text, “I’ll let them know we’re here already” he said looking at the screen. 

Michael stayed silent as he stared at the house, and James could sense his nervousness, so he softly took his hand and got closer, “hey, handsome, it’ll be great”, he said looking at Michael. “I know” he sighed, “I’m just a bit nervous, I want them so much to like me”, he added chuckling. James smiled and kissed his cheek, “they will adore you, I know it. Who doesn’t, anyway?” he said, trying to be reassuring, and he meant it, too, everybody loved his boyfriend; Michael smiled and nodded decidedly, as if accepting a challenge, and kissed James’ lips in the same way, “thank you gorgeous, and not everybody loves me but as long as you do, I’m happy” said Michael, getting ready to open his door. “Good” whispered James with a sweet smile before watching Michael leave the car, and waited for him to open the door for him as he always did.

They rang the doorbell and waited just a few moments in silence before the door opened; Michael’s stomach was in a knot, he couldn’t remember being so nervous about meeting someone ever before, and it was a bit unsettling, but exciting. “Hello!” said James happily as his parents appeared on the other side of the door, hugging his mom first and then his dad, as they hugged him excitedly, with so much love; Michael felt suddenly very happy about being there, remembering how lucky he was to have everything he had at that stage in his life. A big smile crept on his face at the right time since he was exactly just being introduced to the parents. 

“Mom, dad, this is Michael” said James with a small hint of nervousness in his voice but looking as firm as a rock; Michael knew he was nervous, and God, he was in all his right to be, he was introducing his boyfriend to his parents for the first time, right after coming out to them, and he was only 18, he was just so brave… he felt like hugging him and telling him how proud he was to be with him, and how it really didn’t matter at all that he was older because James’ soul was definitely older than his; he felt protected, loved.

James’ mom was a beautiful woman, he could see where James had gotten his innate, juvenile beauty that sometimes was almost feminine, and he could understand that now. She had James’ freckles, nose and big eyes, except hers were hazel and not blue, and she was short, too. He greeted her first, shaking her hand with his most charming smile and kissing her on the cheek, and then shook James’ father’s hand, whom Michael noticed had blue eyes, just as James’ ones, and he was as tall as Michael, with broad shoulders and strong hands. 

“It’s so nice to finally meet you Michael, we have heard a lot about you”, said James’ mom as they shook hands, “I know, I’ve heard so much about you too. Thank you so much for having me in your home” he said politely. “Oh please, James’ home is your home”, she said, and Michael and James smiled at her, Michael falling in love with her already. “Please, come in, I’ve made dinner, you must be starving! How was the way here?” she said enthusiastically, walking towards the kitchen and gesturing at them to follow her, James looked at Michael and winked at him, then took his hand and followed his mother. 

“It was very good, same old highway, just a little too cold. And I’m not too hungry but you know I won’t say no to your food, mum” said James as they walked to the kitchen; James’ mother turned around and smiled at him proudly, and her eyes traveled quickly to their entwined hands, “Well, how about you Michael, are you hungry?” she asked, looking at him. “I’ve heard so much about your cooking that I wouldn’t dare say no, Mrs. McAvoy” he said, and she smiled at him and then at James proudly before turning away to serve the food that was already warm. “Oh well then I guess my son has made a good job at advertising me, I hope you like what I cooked today” she said, and James looked at him and mouthed “nice” with a reassuring smirk. Michael rolled his eyes, smiling.

“Come on mum, whatever you made I bet is delicious. Hey, where’s Joy? JOY!” he shouted, directing his head to the ceiling, startling his mom and Michael who laughed softly. “It takes you less than five minutes to come back to normal once you’re in the house, eh? I did miss the commotion”, said James’ dad chuckling, who was just entering the kitchen. James and Michael laughed, “sorry, it’s the habit” said James, and they heard a voice from upstairs, “JAMES?” shouted Joy, “YES! COME DOWN!” he shouted back with a soft laugh, “James! Stop the shouting!” said his mom with a stern look, “we have guests!” and James suppressed a laugh by biting his lip. 

“Sorry. I’m sorry Michael if I disturbed you with my yelling” he said, looking at Michael, who was suppressing a laugh too and rolled his eyes at James. “Don’t mock me, mister” she said, squinting playfully at his son, and James laughed. “James!” shouted Joy from the door, and ran to hug him tightly, “why didn’t someone tell me you were here already?” she added, still hugging him, and then being aware of Michael’s presence she looked at him and pulled apart from her brother, staring like she had just made a discovery. She stepped in front of Michael and stretched her arm to shake his hand, standing straight and smiling brightly, with a smile very much like James’ one when he was deliberately being charming. Michael smiled at the resemblance, “hello, you must be Joy” he said, shaking her hand and kissing her in the cheek. “Joy, Michael. Michael, Joy” said James as they shook hands, and Joy blushed with the kiss, “Hi, Michael, it’s very nice to meet you” she said suddenly sheepish, when she had been very confident during the first 10 seconds in the room, “it’s very nice to meet you too, Joy” he said, smiling sweetly at her, and she chuckled in a way that reminded Michael of James during the first days of school, when he would blush about everything Michael did.

“Okay, everybody sit down, dinner’s ready” said James’ mom, and they all helped her setting the table as they chatted about the weather and their trip. It took them around ten minutes to start Michael’s subtle questioning, and he was inwardly praying for his answers not to make him seem like a creep, but like a regular, professional adult who happened to fall completely in love with their son who was, coincidentally, his student. It was their entire fault for raising a person that beautiful and combining their genes in such ways, to be honest.

“Hey, I like your shirt!” said James’ dad, excited, since James had unzipped his jacket. “I used to have one exactly like that back in the 70’s”, he added with a melancholic smile, and James chuckled nervously as his mom peeked at him to see it, “I hadn’t seen that one before, did you get it in London?” she asked, unaware of James’ apprehensiveness. “No, it’s, uhm, not mine. It’s Michael’s”, said James, stuttering a bit, looking at his mom and then at his plate; he heard Joy giggle. “Oh” said James’ mom with a surprised and slightly apologetic look since she realized she had made her son a bit uncomfortable, and Michael blushed in a way he didn’t remember he could. Why did he have to wear it today? He’d never know; he knew it wasn’t a big deal, everybody wears their partner’s clothes, but he felt a strangely erotic connection to the fact that James wore his clothes and he couldn’t help but thinking that everyone could notice it. 

“Michael loves Led Zeppelin, dad” said James bravely, and his father seemed like he had been given permission to continue, like he wasn’t sure what to do before in that awkward little moment, but started talking excitedly about music, now that he had found a nice thing to talk about with him. Michael felt a bit better since music was one of his comfort zone topics, and they all seemed to forget the t-shirt thing quickly.

Apart from a couple of slightly awkward moments which involved the topic of school and Michael’s current job, dinner went very well and James thought Michael had been charming, as always; Michael had felt a bit anxious but at the end he did feel like James’ family had genuinely liked him, so he got to relax a little. After dinner they had tea, and James’ dad offered Michael some scotch, which he accepted almost eagerly and James chuckled at this, knowing his boyfriend could use some soothing techniques, in this case the alcohol, although he wished he could help him release tension with some other method they knew very well. 

After a while, James’ parents announced they’d go to bed, James’ mom kissing both of them on the forehead, “Oh, I almost forgot. Honey, the guests’ room is ready for Michael, please let him know where everything is”, she said, not giving room for James to say a thing as he widened his eyes, and then directing at Michael, she added “Whatever you need, please don’t doubt telling us, and make yourself at home. It’s very nice to have you here, love” and wishing them a good night, she left the room. Joy joined them for a little while longer and then left to sleep too, since it was getting late.

“I’m so sorry, I thought you were staying at my room”, said James apologetically, and Michael chuckled, “it’s alright, actually I think I feel less awkward with your parents like this. I mean, we’re moving in together, and we have to tell them tomorrow by the way, and I know they know we… well, do stuff, sleep together. Staying at your room would be just acknowledging it in their face though!” he said, completely relaxed now that it was just the two of them again. James laughed, “I didn’t know you were so traditional with this whole meeting the parents thing. I’m glad though, because trying to convince my mom to let me sleep with my boyfriend would’ve been awkward”, he said, and Michael covered his face with his hands, chuckling. “Oh God, how did I do? Do they hate me?” he said, looking at James with a puppy look. “What? You did great! I wouldn’t be surprised if they wanna trade me for you” said James smiling and hugging him, placing Michael’s head on his chest to pet him, and Michael laughed but immediately cherished the petting.

Next morning they got up early to have a long breakfast which started by the two of them and then James’ parents joined; they made plans for having lunch with them but they’d go downtown before, and to that bookshop they were both eager to visit, so they’d meet again later. The bookshop was, as Michael had imagined, beautiful as heck. The smell of old books as you came in was the first thing he loved, and James was smiling so brightly at seeing Michael’s reactions that he wanted to just live in that bookshop and watch him smile like that every day.

They walked along the aisles and looked and touched carefully, treasuring the beautiful vintage copies of so many beloved books; James called Michael to see the content of a wooden box at the end of an aisle, and as he saw what was in it, Michael gasped, his eyebrows shooting up, “these are like your Atonement copy!” he said, taking a couple of tiny books, not bigger than half his hand, with beautiful illustrated hard covers. “Mhm” said James, smiling, “the last time I just saw that one, but there are lots of other books… look! – He said, raising one, triumphant – A Bend in the River!”, he knew Michael loved this one so he was proud of finding it, and Michael looked like a child in Christmas. 

James watched Michael as they both sat on the floor exploring the box, and he swore he fell in love all over again; Michael was glowing, gorgeous as can be, excited, so passionate in everything he did, even if it was opening a tiny book. The sun that came from the window right in front of them made his stubble beam in gold, copper and red, and his blue-grey eyes had a third color added with the yellow light, they looked like galaxies. His golden skin was radiant, the slight creases next to his eyes, either because of age or laughing so much, or maybe both, were more visible with the contrasting light, and his chest rose and fell, his breathing soft, his face peaceful. James did all he could to memorize this image, he wanted to grow old with the memory of Michael like this, so handsome, so himself.

“You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen” said James, so seriously that Michael could just look at him and smile tenderly, knowing he meant it with all his heart, he knew James enough by now. “Thank you – he said – and noticed that the same sunlight that made him think Michael was that beautiful, made James look like something otherworldly, so stunning it hurt. They looked at each other for a few seconds, admiring, and Michael noticed all the golden freckles on James’ skin were glowing, like he was always meant to be under the Scottish sun, which made his hair and eyelashes shimmer, and made his lips look fuller, redder; he looked angelic. “Oh, God” whispered Michael, sighing as he left the books on the floor and got closer to James, placing his hand over his cheek, “I love you” he said right before kissing him, James sitting on the floor and Michael kneeling in front of him. “I love you too” said James softly in between the kiss, enjoying the taste and the movement of Michael’s mouth, their tongues rolling slowly. 

James felt his breath quicken and his blood travel dangerously down south, so he pulled apart carefully and chuckled, blushing. “Sorry” said Michael, chuckling too, and bit his own lip. James smiled with a tipsy look in his eyes and shook his head, “no, don’t be”, he whispered, and pecked Michael’s lips. They smiled lovingly at each other and continued with their search; after around an hour they were fully packed with the books they’d buy so they paid, left the shop and took a walk around the streets, James showing him places from his childhood and teenage years, and Michael was delighted with the sights and the stories.

They met James’ parents back at the house where his mum had made lunch, and the whole house smell delicious. After showing them what they had found in the bookshop, Joy arrived home too from a friend’s house and they got ready to eat. They had discussed during the morning about talking to James’ family about moving in together, so they knew it was time to go ahead with the plan. After eating and chatting merrily, James started, and Michael’s heart skipped a beat. “Mum, dad…”, “and Joy” said his sister, “and Joy – said James with a chuckle- we wanted to tell you some plans we have, for the future. Very near future” and he could see their faces go slightly pale; James did make it sound like they were going to tell them they were adopting a kid and moving to Africa tomorrow. “I’ve asked James to move in with me”, said Michael flatly, trying to make it better, “and I said yes, but we wanted to talk to you about it before I did” said James quickly. 

They all stared at each other for what felt like an hour, but it was really just a few seconds, “that’s great!” said Joy, looking at James and Michael and then at their parents, obviously wanting to convince them to think the same. “Thanks Joy, I think so too” said James softly, holding his breath a little, and Michael just stared at everyone with big eyes. “I… well, yeah, it is nice news. I mean if you guys think you’re ready for that big step, then I guess it’s alright”, said James mum pensively after a few seconds, like she was trying to convince herself, too. “Thanks mum” said James with a crooked smile, and turned to his dad, and so did Michael, scared as hell, expecting to be thrown out the house immediately. “I’m just happy you’re getting a better roommate than Evan” said James’ dad shrugging with a small smirk, and they all laughed, releasing the tension.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

James kept rolling in his bed from side to side every couple of minutes, not being able to sleep. It had been a tiring day, yes, but knowing that Michael was downstairs, alone in the guests’ room of his own house, it was killing him. It was a bit silly, because it wasn’t like they didn’t have sex regularly, and they always had the freedom to do it at Michael’s place whenever they wanted, or at James’ when Evan wasn’t there, which was often enough. No, it was just that they shouldn’t do it here, and they were being separated for the nights, and it was causing him too much anxiety and making him incredibly horny.

He closed his eyes tightly and tried to think of anything else, like the final projects he had to make for his other classes, what he would wear tomorrow, the gifts he had to get for Christmas… he wasn’t sure what to get Michael. Michael who was downstairs wearing probably just some t-shirt and his sinfully tight boxer briefs, or maybe just the boxer briefs… Oh God – he thought – covering his face with his hands desperately. “Ok, fine” he whispered to himself after a few seconds, and lifted his jumper a bit, running his hand through his stomach and under his pants, then with a heavy and releasing sigh he started caressing and stroking himself, immediately thinking of Michael’s strong body: his chest, his delicious abs and hipbones. 

He bit his lip as he imagined his boyfriend slowly stripping from his briefs and placing himself on top of James, running his tongue through his neck and jawline, then lowering all the way to his cock and setting it in his mouth, sucking, licking, with his gorgeous eyes looking up at James, smiling that sexy as hell smile…. “Fuck” he whispered, and panted silently, his cheeks turning red. He then pictured Michael flipping him around with a swift movement, whispering dirty and loving things to his ear as he put his wonderful cock in place. James licked his lips and bent his knees, then quickly licked two of his fingers and reached for his own entrance, picturing Michael pushing in, moaning James’ name. “Ah, Michael” he whispered desperately, trying to feel as good as he could but he knew the real thing and this was nothing like it… he was already used to the size and warmness and he could never go back. He inserted a third finger and felt himself stretching, the burn of it already asking for more, and moaned silently; after a couple of minutes of what he thought would be helping him to release tension, he whispered “fuck it” and left his bed quickly.

Michael woke up to a very warm and wet feeling on his neck and a slight weight on top of him, and was extremely confused and aroused for the first two seconds, then was just left aroused once he realized what was happening; it was James who was lying on top of him and kissing his neck softly, and the warmth of his body, tongue and breath was a wonderful sensation that started at the bottom of his stomach and traveled all throughout his skin. “Mmm, hi gorgeous” he said with a sleepy voice, but then remembered where they were and panicked a bit, “James! We’re at your parents’ house!” he whispered quickly, placing his hands on James’ waist firmly as if to stop him but not doing too much to do so. 

“Hi... So?” said James, pulling his head from Michael’s neck to see him in the eye, even if the room was completely dark except for the soft lights from outside that entered through the window; Michael chuckled, “so, we’re not doing this at your parents’ house” he said with a steady look and raising his eyebrows slightly, and he could see James’ eyes, big and dark, shiny with lust, his red mouth slightly open, and felt his lower stomach flip. “Why not?” said James with a teasing tone in his voice, shifting his position gracefully so Michael could feel his erection, and breathing warmly against the other man’s mouth; Michael swallowed and sighed, closing his eyes briefly to calm down, “because they might hear something, imagine if they came to my room and saw us” he said, mortified just by the thought; James shook his head and kissed Michael’s jaw, “they wouldn’t come to your room, and we can be silent, you know?” he whispered hotly against his skin, running his hand through Michael’s arm and then his waist, stroking him, and Michael shook his head too, “I should have known this was going to happen, you enjoy the thrill of getting caught!” he whispered, his hands still on James’ waist gave a soft squeeze, and James chuckled mischievously. 

Michael couldn’t deny he enjoyed the thrill too. Maybe… no, NO. “James, it’s too risky babe” he added, receiving a wet kiss from James to stop him from talking; “but I want you so much, I missed you – said James a bit desperately – I was in my room and I was really trying to sleep but I just couldn’t, knowing you were here by yourself… in my house, on this bed, it was driving me crazy… and just, the thought of your body, I don’t know, I want you, I wanna make love to you, right now”, he was talking lowly, kissing him between words and was already rubbing ever so lightly against Michael, who was by the time more than turned on; “ah, James…. Fuck, how can I say no to you? – he bucked his hips a bit - you’re so sexy” said Michael, grunting, and James smiled and moaned silently, then reached for Michael’s mouth again and placed his lips softly against Michael’s, talking into his mouth, “I wanna ride you”, he whispered, his eyes glistening and his hands tight on his boyfriend’s neck and shoulder. Michael groaned silently at the thought and shut his eyes, “fuck, that’s… yes, fuck me James”, he whispered, suddenly too aroused and not caring about where they were or what else could happen. 

James grunted and stopped what seemed to be the beginning of a high-pitched moan, and nodded. He took his pajama pants off with Michael’s help and then his jumper, shivering a bit at the coldish room, and then stripped Michael quickly, needy. “Mmm yes – said James looking at Michael’s body –fuck yes – he took Michael’s cock in his hand- so big and tasty, and it’s all mine” he whispered, hotly; “yes, it is yours baby, I am” said Michael, enjoying the words, his boyfriend’s lustful stare and movement of James’ hand, who after a few strokes reached for his own mouth and licked his palm, then stroked Michael again, who moaned silently and bucked his hips at the wet sensation.

James was eager, he got on his knees and put the tip of Michael’s cock in place and started sliding himself down, catching his breath and opening his mouth. Michael moaned and tensed his legs to restrain himself from thrusting his hips unintentionally, “baby, don’t you want me to prepare you first?” he asked, whispering and panting; James shook his head and smiled wickedly as he slid down slowly but without too much difficulty, “I already did it before, in my room” he said, and Michael smiled, grunting at the thought of James on his bed, stretching and fingering himself, panting, his red cheeks burning, his eyes closed tightly… oh man, “baby, you were fucking yourself? That’s so hot, were –aah, yes- were you thinking of me?” he whispered with a husky voice, watching James slide all the way down, his arms stretched and his both palms on Michael’s chest, “mmm, of course I was thinking of you” he said, his accent thick, his body almost reaching the bottom of Michael’s dick, “yes baby, that’s it, sit on my cock” said Michael hotly, and James moaned at the words, reaching the bottom completely with a sturdy downward movement and sending his head back slightly, panting and frowning. Michael moaned as silently as he could, a guttural sound; it felt fucking good to have James sitting on him, fucking him like that… it always seemed to be Michael who was in control, but it was so hot that James was the one in charge this time.

James pushed himself up supporting his hands on Michael’s chest and then lowered all the way down to the base of Michael’s cock, and they both moaned quietly, then he did it again, slowly, slightly sending his hips forward as he came down, then backwards when he went up, and repeated this movement, Michael’s hips following it as they achieved a marvelous rhythm, and after a while of silent panting and loving and playful dirty words, they both knew they were critically close to the end. “Fuck, James, you’re so good… ride me baby, ride me hard” said Michael as quietly as he could, James’ movements driving him crazy; he looked so delicious and sexy riding him like that, his cheeks and lips red, his cock pumping against his stomach, his legs spread around him, “yeah? You like that daddy?” whispered James, smirking a bit, and Michael thrust hard and moaned lowly at the unexpected word, “fuu-huck, yes, yes” whispered Michael, running his hand through James’ chest and then taking his cock in his hand, James moaning at this, and after a couple pumps he took Michael’s hand and kissed it, “no, I’ll come with just your cock”, he whispered, then licked Michael’s thumb and placed it in his mouth, sucking on it and biting it.

Michael sucked in a breath and licked his lips, wanting to shout James’ name, to come inside of him, to marry him, tell him how much he loved him, make him pregnant even if it wasn’t possible, have beautiful blue-eyed kids, grow old, to live and love every second of it. “I love you James, make love to me babe, fuck me, I love you so much” he whispered, panting, desperate, in love. “I love you too, I – aah, Michael – I love you so much, come baby, fill me up, I need you” whispered James, lowering his upper body to be near Michael’s mouth, kissing him wetly, messily, perfect, and with a hard thrust, they both gasped with their mouths together, their bodies sweating, and Michael could feel the warm sensation of James’ come on his stomach as James felt Michael finish, too.

James rested his forehead on Michael’s as they caught their breath for a few minutes, and Michael caressed his back lovingly; “You’re perfect, James… what did I ever do to deserve you?” he said against James’ mouth. James smiled sweetly, “you did everything that I ever wished for a man to do, and so much more. I can’t believe I’m with you myself”, he said, and Michael shook his head, smiling, wanting James to understand that he, Michael, was the lucky one. “What I can’t believe is that we just had this mind-blowing sex under your parents’ roof”, said Michael, chuckling, now caressing James’ butt cheeks, squeezing them slightly. James laughed and ducked his head, placing his forehead on Michael’s chin, “I’m sorry, you’re too irresistible”. 

Michael chuckled and lifted his chin to look at James’ beautiful face, “sweetheart, I was convinced that I wouldn’t let myself do anything during these days at your house because it was too risky, no matter how much I wanted to, and when you came to me I wasn’t able to say no for more than two minutes. Please reconsider who’s the irresistible one”. James laughed softly, “you’re sweet”, he said, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips, “I wish I could stay here, but I think I should go back to my room before I fall asleep” he added with a yawn, and Michael nodded and spanked him playfully as he got up. James chuckled and put his clothes on while looking at Michael, both of them gawking at the other’s body; he shuddered at Michael’s strong gaze and bit his lip, smiling, as he got close to Michael’s bed again and gave him a last kiss, “good night gorgeous, I love you” said Michael, “thank you for coming down here” he added with a smile. “I love you too, baby. Good night!” he whispered and left the room flashing him a bright smile.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was really early, but he really needed the toilet and he needed a shower, urgently, so he got up as quietly as he could and took a pair of clean pajamas with him. He took a long, hot shower, missing James since now they usually showered together when he stayed at his flat, even if they just showered and nothing else, it was nice and fun. He thought of the night before with a sided smile as the water fell down his neck and back, and felt radiant, so in love he could burst. 

He realized he wasn’t going to be able to sleep again, so once he was out the shower he grabbed a book and went to the living room, but smelled coffee and heard some noise in the kitchen, so he peeked to see who was there. James’ mum was standing with the door of the fridge open, and immediately saw Michael when he appeared in the room. “Oh, good morning honey, you’re up early!” she said gleefully, and Michael smiled, “good morning! Yeah, I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep again” he said, entering the kitchen and kissing her cheek, “I know that feeling. Well, you’re lucky, the coffee’s ready, do you want something to eat?” she said, already serving two mugs and handing him one, “thank you so much – he said, taking the cup – and no, thank you, I’ll wait for the rest to wake up so we can all eat together, unless you’re having something” he said, not really hungry. “That’s okay, I don’t eat so early either”, said James’ mum with a smile, sitting with Michael on the table.

“Mrs. McAvoy, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about a few things”, said Michael, holding the cup of coffee with his both hands, “Sure darling, what is it?” said James’ mum, sweetly but also clearly surprised. Michael took a deep breath, “First of all, I want to thank you for having me here, and being so nice. I didn’t expect less from the persons who raised James, honestly, but still, you’ve been nothing but sweet to me, and I feel like at home, which makes me very happy – James’ mother smiled and nodded – also, well, I hope you believe me when I tell you I have the best intentions with James; I know we have a slightly bigger age gap than what’s expected at our age, and that it’s not well seen to have a relationship with a student or a teacher, but I’ve done things the way I have thought best, and the last thing I would do, ever, is hurt your son. I’m… I love him so much, and I intend to take care of him for as long as he lets me. Nothing would make me happier than knowing I have your blessing and that you believe me when I tell you all these things… so I guess I’m kind of asking for that” said Michael, nervous but already feeling better at having said this. 

James’ mum had been looking at Michael with a small smile while he talked, and when he finished she waited for a moment, looked at her cup of coffee, and then back at him. “I’ve known James all of his life, and there’s nothing in this world I love more than him and Joy. Yesterday, when you showed me the books you bought at that old bookshop he’s always loved so much, I could see a gleam in his eyes that I had never seen before, and God, you were both so excited over these dusty copies, all I could think of was how finally James had found someone to share the stuff he loves the most with, someone who loves it too. If you tell me that you’re going to make him this happy over small and big things, then I couldn’t care less about age differences or society’s expectations, I just want him to be the best James he can be” she said, and Michael could feel a knot in his throat. He smiled at her and nodded, “I promise I’ll try to do that. He already makes me the best Michael I can be”, he said, and she smiled back, placing her hand on top of his, and he cherished the warmth, suddenly missing his own mother. “Then you have my blessing, honey”, she said, winking at him.

James woke up around an hour later, and went down the kitchen, surprised to see Michael already there and chatting happily with his mum. The rest of the morning passed with them hanging out at the house, talking, having lots of cups of coffee with James’ parents and Joy. In the afternoon they had to leave back to London and it was already kind of late, since they both had class the next day. They left with promises of coming back soon, a big bottle of scotch that James’ dad gave them, a tupperware with pastries that his mom had baked and a couple of hearts full of hope.


End file.
